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KENTUCKY 
BAPTIST HISTORY 

1770 — 1922 



By 

THE REV. WILLIAM DUDLEY NOWLIN, D.D., LL.D. 

Author of "What Baptists Stand For" 
"Fundamentals of the Faith** 
"God So Loved the World," etc. 



BAPTIST BOOK CONCERN 

1922 



,V< A- H U 



Copyright, 1922 

BY 

Baptist Book Concern 




NOV 27'^ 



I.A690411 



This book is dedicated by the author to 
Deacon J. W. Lam, of the First Baptist 
Church, Greenville, Kentucky, who backed 
his pastor financially in gathering and 
preparing the material for this history. 



AUTHOR'S FOREWORD 

THE story of the rise, progress, trials and triumphs 
of Baptists in Kentucky is more thrilling and 
remarkable than the purest fiction of the wildest 
imagination. One hundred and fifty-two years ago 
there was one Baptist on Kentucky soil, Elder Squire 
Boone ; today there are about three hundred thousand 
Baptists in the State of Kentucky. This, too, in spite 
of the fact that Kentucky's fruitful soil has been the 
hotbed of almost every conceivable heresy. 

Kentucky has been in theological, as well as in 
profane history, a "dark and bloody ground.' ' She 
has been the storm center of religious controversy, 
the battle-field of jarring opinions from her earliest 
history. Her preachers have been trained in a stern 
school, being men of war from their youth up. 
"Infidelity," "Deism," " Unitarianism, " "Hell- 
Kedemptionism, " " Arianism, " " Two-Seedism, ' ' 
"Campbellism," ' ' Hard-shellism, " "Old Landmark- 
ism," "Whittsittism," "Gospel Missionism," suc- 
ceeding and overlapping one the other, for more than 
125 years have divided the Baptist forces of this state 
and shorn them of much of their power. But our 
brethren farther south should not complacently refer 
to Kentucky Baptists as "a scrappy bunch," forget- 
ting the fact that Kentucky has fought the battles for 
the other states as well as for herself, and that but 
for the heroic struggles in Kentucky there would of 
necessity have been greater struggles in these other 
states. Kentucky has served as a break-water for 
the South against the flood of heresies that has swept 
down from the North. 

Explanation 

We take the following, which is self-explanatory, 
from the minutes of General Association of Baptists 
in Kentucky for the year 1917 (page 70) : 

5 



6 Author's Foreword 

"W. D. Nowlin offered the following resolu- 
tion, which was unanimously adopted: 

"Inasmuch as we as Baptists are making 
history in Kentucky and inasmuch as it is very 
important to preserve our history, therefore be it 

"Resolved, That we, the General Association 
of Baptists in Kentucky, in session assembled, 
this, the 15th day of November, 1917, request 
Prof. W. J. McGlothlin to prepare and publish 
a readable history of Kentucky Baptists from 
their beginning in this State to the present time. ' ' 

Immediately following the meeting of the General 
Association, in which the above resolution was passed, 
the author turned over to Professor McGlothlin such 
materials as he had gathered for a history of Ken- 
tucky Baptists. Professor McGlothlin expected to 
prepare the history, but was later called to the presi- 
dency of Furman University, which position he 
accepted, and which removed him from the state. On 
leaving the state he turned back to the author the 
materials for the history. 

From the minutes of the Georgetown session of 
the General Association, 1919 (page 35), we take the 
following : l ' On motion W. D. Nowlin was requested 
to write a History of Kentucky Baptists, and the 
Kentucky Baptist Historical Society was requested to 
finance the publication.' 7 

This gives us something of the history of this 
History. The original resolution called for "a read- 
able history of Kentucky Baptists from their begin- 
ning in this state to the present time." It has been 
the aim of the author to follow this instruction. How- 
ever, it has been hard sometimes to cut down the 
material to a readable volume, and yet give all that 
should be given to make clear a connected history of 
Baptists in Kentucky from the first appearance of 
Elder Squire Boone in January, 1770, to 1922. 

In this history the effort has been made to give 
the various movements among Kentucky Baptists in 



Author's Foreword 7 

their chronological order, though at times there is 
considerable overlapping of these movements. 

Appreciation 

The appreciation of the author is here expressed 
to his friends, the Rev. W. W. Landrum, D. D., the 
Rev. C. M. Thompson, D. D., the Rev. W. J. McGloth- 
lin, D. D., the Rev. John T. Christian, D. P., and the 
Rev. J. G. Bow, D. D. for assistance and suggestions. 
He also extends thanks to the following who fur- 
nished old copies of papers, magazines, minutes, etc. : 
Hon. H. S. Robinson, Campbellsville ; Mr. 0. C. Fogle, 
Fairfield, 111.; Miss Mattie Wilson, Bardstown; Mrs. 
H. A. Buchanan, Burdick, Ky. ; Mr. J. B. Whitaker, 
Russellville ; the Rev. Benj. Connaway, Providence; 
Don Singletary, M. D., Clinton ; J. N. Smith, Lewis- 
ton, Mo. ; the Rev. CO. Simpson, Clay ; Mrs. F. T. 
Heyser, DeLand, Fla., and the Rev. W. M. Lee, Th. 
D., Cochran, Ga. To Deacon J. W. Lam of the First 
Baptist Church, Greenville, Ky., a fine Christian gen- 
tleman, who is interested in his denomination and its 
history, and who gave his encouragement and finan- 
cial support to his pastor, the author, in his arduous 
task of gathering and preparing this material, is the 
author greatly indebted. 

Yours fraternally, 

Wm. D. Nowlin. 

First Baptist Church Study, 

Greenville, Ky. 
June 5, 1922. 



INTRODUCTION 

ACCORDING to the canons of enlightened criti- 
cism the man behind the book needs interpreta- 
tion as well as the book itself. In order to reach 
this result one must take into consideration the fac- 
tors that make up character. These are admitted by 
all Christians to be heredity, environment, choice and 
the grace of God. 

A brief sketch of the life and career of William 
Dudley Nowlin is therefore appropriate if not abso- 
lutely essential in this Introduction. The Nowlin 
Genealogy, prepared by Professor James Edmund 
Nowlin of the University of Utah, a large volume of 
more than five hundred pages, traces the descent of 
our author through the centuries back to Irish roy- 
alty. His American forbears began life in Virginia. 
From the Old Dominion they emigrated to Tennessee. 
In Weakley county of that state William Dudley 
Nowlin was born March 10, 1864. The home into 
which he was introduced was surcharged with a Chris- 
tian atmosphere. His parents, William David Now- 
lin and his mother, nee Caroline Glass, were both 
righteous before God and reared their son in the nur- 
ture and admonition of the Lord. Like the over- 
whelming numbers of the Baptist ministry he was 
brought up on a farm and enjoyed unusual physical 
development in God's great out of doors. He is the 
second of nine children. 

To become a Baptist, one has said in harmony 
with the teachings of Jesus, one must be born again. 
This new experience came to our author in his six- 
teenth year and was followed by baptism and union 
with the church. 

At the time he received his call to the work of the 
Gospel ministry Nowlin was conducting successfully 

9 



10 Introduction 

a large drug business. His response to that call 
involved financial sacrifices. Realizing his need of 
more thorough training for his most responsible voca- 
tion he went to the Southern Baptist Theological Sem- 
inary and there completed his course in three years. 
Added to this training was special study in the Uni- 
versity of Chicago. Because of his studious habits, 
wide reading, varied experience and philosophic tem- 
per united to pastoral efficiency and unsullied devo- 
tion to duty Georgetown college conferred on him the 
degree of Doctor of Divinity, and Union University 
the degree of Doctor of Laws. 

Few among his contemporaries have disclosed a 
greater variety of gifts and accomplishments than are 
exhibited in the ministry of Dr. Nowlin. His pas- 
torates have been held in several states, Tennessee, 
Florida and Kentucky, and far beyond their borders 
his influence has extended through his contributions 
to the press and his evangelistic preaching. Espe- 
cially is his name a household word in Kentucky in 
which state his leadership in denominational affairs 
has given him an enviable preeminence. 

Limited space forbids an enumeration of all the 
details of Dr. Nowlin 's multitudinous services to the 
kingdom of God as orator, executive officer, preacher, 
pastor, editor, author, and sane, sound, safe coun- 
sellor in the assemblies of his brethren. Quite recently 
his pen has given to the denomination a book entitled 
"Fundamentals of the Faith," which, in the judg- 
ment of the most competent critics among us, is des- 
tined to be a text book in our Southern Baptist schools 
and colleges. 

Dr. Nowlin is at this time vice president of the 
S. B. Convention. 

The Kentucky Baptist General Association with a 
due regard for character, culture and disinterested 
devotion to truth, accuracy, comprehensiveness, and 
fairness chose Dr. Nowlin as the one man capable of 
writing a History of Kentucky Baptists. After care- 
ful, painstaking, laborious and tireless effort in this 



Introduction 11 

direction running through several years he presents 
his work to the judgment of his brethren and to all 
others interested in the annals of the largest group of 
Christians in this commonwealth. These pages which 
follow may not be free from imperfections, to which 
all historians are liable, but it is believed that on the 
whole the subject matter comes up to all the require- 
ments of a clear, candid and impartial presentation 
of the facts as known to the writer. If history be 
philosophy teaching by example it befits all Baptists 
to read this work for an intelligent understanding of 
how God, through our people, has worked out his pur- 
poses in the spiritual activities of Kentucky Baptists. 

W. W. Landrum. 

Bethel College, June, 1922. 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I. Period of Preparation 17 

Daniel Boone and his brother Squire exploring 
Kentucky. 

Lord Dunmore's war waged by Americans and 
for America. 

George Eoger Clark's brilliant campaigns. 

General Harrison's annihilation of the British 
and Indian forces. 
II. The First Preaching in Kentucky 22 

Elder Squire Boone the first preacher in Ken- 
tucky. 

Preacher Boone marries the first couple in Ken- 
tucky. 

The first recorded preaching in Kentucky, by 
Jno. Lythe, Episcopalian. 

First Baptist Preaching on record, by Thos. 
Tinsley and Wm. Hickman. 

Filson says "Anabaptists were the first to pro- 
mote public worship in Kentucky." First 
preaching in Kentucky by Baptists. 
III. The First Churches Constituted — 1781. 29 

Severn's Valley Constituted June 18, 1781 — First 
church in Kentucky. 

Cedar Creek, Nelson County, July 4, 1781 — 
Second church in Kentucky. 

Gilbert's Creek — Lewis Craig's church — Decem- 
ber, 1781. 

Long list of churches constituted between 1781 
and 1791, with their locations and the names 
of the preachers who constituted them. 

Theodore Roosevelt in error about Reformed 
Dutch Church in Kentucky, 1780. 

Two old subscription lists — Whiskey. 
IV. The First Associations Constituted — 1785.... 43 

Elkhorn constituted October 1, 1785 — the first 
in Kentucky. 

Salem constituted October 29, 1785 — the second. 

South Kentucky, May, 1788. Other associations 
constituted. Summary of the seventy-six asso- 
ciations in Kentucky. 
13 



14 Contents 



CHAPTER. PAGE 

V. The Great Bevival of 1800 62 

This revival began in 1797 under preaching of 
Presbyterians. 

Marked mental and spiritual phenomena mani- 
fested. 

Baptists took little part in these excesses. Good 
accomplished. 
VI. The Begular and Separate Baptists in Ken- 
tucky United — 1801 66 

History of Eegular and Separate Baptists. 

History of the Union. Terms of the Union. 
The Union effective. 
VII. The Emancipation Bupture — 1807 71 

Agitation of the slavery question began in Ken- 
tucky as early as 1789. 

The slavery agitation in Virginia. 

The rupture occurred 1807. Emancipation asso- 
ciation formed. 

Association dwindled and died. No permanent 
split. 
VIII. The Campbellian Split— 1830 78 

Alexander Campbell landed in the United States 
1809. 

Campbell began his preaching in Kentucky in 
1823 as a Baptist. 

A definite separation between Baptists and Dis- 
ciples effected 1830. 

The Disciples opposed, strenuously, the separa- 
tion. Division forced. 

The doctrinal statement drawing the line. Camp- 
bellism on the decline. Has lost its proselyt- 
ing propaganda. 
IX. The Anti-Mission Split— 1832 to 1842 100 

Early Baptists in Kentucky all missionary in 
spirit and practice. 

John Taylor, anti-mission leader, was one time 
a missionary. 

Daniel Parker and "Two-Seed" doctrine. Camp- 
bell anti-missionary. 

The division in various associations. 
X. The Kentucky Baptist Convention — 1832 116 

Kentucky Baptist convention of few days and 
full of troubles. 

Constitution of the Baptist State Convention. 

Baptists afraid of conventions. The convention 
dies. 

Has but few mourners. 



Contents 15 



CHAPTER PAGE 

XI. The General Association Constituted — 1837.. 124 

General Association of Baptists in Kentucky 
strikes a more lesponsive chord. 

Constitution of General Association. Historical 
table of General Association for eighty-five 
years. 
XII. The Gospel Mission Deflection — 1894 130 

The spirit of Gospel missions. 

Gospel missions in their beginning in Kentucky. 

What they have accomplished. 

Inconsistent claims. 
XIII. The Whitsitt Controversy — 1896 142 

When it began. The occasion. 

Johnson's Encyclopedia article. Independent 
editorials. Great disturbances. 

Action of S. B. Convention. Action of Kentucky 
Baptists. Doctor Whitsitt's resignation. 
XIV. The Unification Program and Great Forward 

Movement — 1919 155 

The year 1919 a great year. 

The two Baptist papers in Kentucky consolidated. 

The great forward movement in all benevolent 
objects. Financial reports. 
XV. Kentucky Baptist Institutions 163 

Western Becorder — Three editors not mentioned 
by Spencer; paper not suspended from 1861 
to 1863 as claimed. Georgetown College — 
Chartered 1829; really dates back to 1788; 
co-educational — standard. Bethel College — 
1849; standard junior; list of presidents. 
Bethel Woman's College — 1854; new presi- 
dent; new buildings; new spirit. Louisville 
Baptist Orphans Home — Cumberland College — 
Baptist Ministers Aid Society — Eussell Creelc 
Baptist Academy — Kentucky Baptist Chil- 
dren's Home — 8. B. Theological Seminary. 
XVI. The Mystery of Lincoln's Eeligion Cleared Up 187 

The Lincolns in Kentucky were Baptists. Lin- 
colns were anti-slavery but not anti-mission. 
The Little Pigeon Baptist Church, near Lin- 
coln City, Indiana, where Lincoln joined after 
leaving Kentucky, is now a Hardshell Baptist 
Church. Abraham Lincoln's simple Baptist 
faith never left him. 

Lincoln and his Bible. 

A man of faith and a man of prayer. 



Kentucky Baptist History 

1770—1922 

CHAPTER I 

Period of Preparation 

"0 memory, thou choicest blessing, on thy speedy 
wing bear us back to the time when our country was 
young; and thou, Description, show us the scenes 
which met the vision of our heroic ancestors. ' ' 

In the year 1770 we find Squire Boone, a Baptist 
preacher on Kentucky soil; and so far as records 
show the only Baptist in that, then vast wilderness, 
now known as Kentucky. The first settlers of Ken- 
tucky beheld at the base of the great forests and rich 
herbage a soil as fertile as that of the Nile valley of 
Egypt, and in marked contrast with the sterile coun- 
try of the settlements in the East from which they 
had come. Amid these scenes of natural beauty 
roamed the fleet-footed deer, the stately elk, the surly 
bear, the cunning wolf, the sly fox, the crafty pan- 
ther, the majestic buffalo, the graceful swan, the shy 
turkey, the timid goose, the clumsy duck, and other 
game without number. The flowing springs, cool and 
refreshing, sprang out of the ground, and coursed 
their way amid banks of grass and flowers, or under 
hanging vines, to the creeks and rivers. No wonder 
that Daniel Boone said that he had "found a para- 
dise in the great wilds beyond the mountains.' ' 
Roosevelt says ("The Winning of the West," Vol. II, 
p. 37) "Lord Dunmore's war waged by Americans for 
the good of America was the opening act in the 
drama whereof the closing scene was played at York- 

17 

2 



18 Kentucky Baptist History — 1770-1922 

town. It made possible the two-fold character of the 
Revolutionary War, wherein on the one hand the 
Americans won by conquest and colonization new 
lands for their children, and on the other wrought 
out their national independence of the British king. 
Save for Lord Dunmore 's war we could not have set- 
tled beyond the mountains until after we had ended 
our quarrel with our kinsfolk across the sea. It so 
cowed the northern Indians that for two or three 
years they made no further organized effort to check 
the white advance. In consequence, the Kentucky 
pioneers had only to contend with small parties of 
enemies until time had been given them to become so 
firmly rooted in the land that it proved impossible to 
oust them." 

The population, at the close of the third decade of 
the nineteenth century, of all that portion of the 
United States lying between the Alleghany Moun- 
tains and Mississippi River was estimated at three 
millions. 

But sixty years before this we find Daniel Boone 
and his brother Squire exploring the wilderness of 
Kentucky. About the year 1778-9 a young Virginian, 
George Rogers Clark, hearing of an attempt on the part 
of Colonel Hamilton then in command of the British 
forces at Detroit, to stir up all the western tribes of 
Indians to a concerted attack upon the frontier, un- 
dertook to prevent the frightful consequences which 
such an attack, should it be successful, would produce. 
Clark in two short and brilliant campaigns conquered 
and captured Hamilton at Vincennes and concluded 
his enterprise by capturing and holding all the terri- 
tory north of the Ohio River and extending from the 
Alleghanies to the Mississippi. The restless pioneers 
yearning for the Great West inspired by the daring 
of such champions as Boone and Robertson, and 
encouraged by the victories of Clark to hope for rea- 
sonable exemption from Indian attacks now began the 
westward march. Long wagon trains and strings of 
pack-horses could frequently be seen dragging their 



Period of Preparation 19 

tedious lengths across the mountain passes, and ere 
long the rude log cabins and the well-tilled farms gave 
unmistakable evidence of the presence of the hardy 
and prosperous pioneer. Soon, however, the second 
war with England engaged the attention of all on 
both sides of the mountains, and in consequence, the 
Indian depredations in the Northwest and Southwest 
were poor inducements with which to lure would-be 
emigrants from the other side. The conflict between 
America and the mother country happily proved of 
short duration, the latter acquiescing in all the 
demands which the victorious nation imposed upon 
her, thereby strengthening the American feeling of 
nationality and showing her power. Moreover during 
the War General Harrison completely annihilated the 
combined British and Indian forces in the battle of 
the Thames and so presently recovered the Northwest 
territory, while Andrew Jackson at the head of a few 
United States regulars in a bloody campaign of six or 
seven months, which was brought to a successful ter- 
mination by the battle of Tallapoosa in March, 1814, 
delivered a crushing blow to the Indian forces in the 
Southwest. Thus from the mountains to the Missis- 
sippi the settlers were again relieved of the fear of 
attack from the cruel red man. Shortly before the 
breaking out of the war a steamboat was launched on 
the Ohio at Pittsburgh and it was not long thereafter 
until the Ohio, with its tributaries, was provided with 
many such vessels bearing a constantly increasing 
stream of emigrants to their western homes. The suc- 
cessful termination of the war which begat a feeling 
of safety, and the introduction of steamboat travel, 
which greatly facilitated means of communication, 
undoubtedly had much to do with the westward 
expansion which now is only necessary to recall the 
fact that each year for four consecutive years, a new 
state in the Mississippi valley was added to the Union. 
This was a marvelous growth. The integrity of our 
possessions being now assured, and immunity from 
the aggressions of Indians guaranteed, the tide of 



20 Kentucky Baptist History— 1770-1922 

population temporarily held back, now set in again 
from the East with increased volume and momentum, 
and there was accordingly ushered in for "the next 
fifty years a material growth without a parallel in 
history/ ' The people who came West were inclined 
to be religious. Theodore Roosevelt ("Winning of the 
West," Vol. I, p. 69) says in speaking of the character 
of these pioneers, "At the bottom they were deeply 
religious in their tendencies; and although ministers 
and meeting houses were rare, yet the backwoods 
cabins often contained Bibles and the mothers used 
to instill into the minds of their children reverence 
for Sunday." 

It is a great error, however, to suppose that repre- 
sentatives of the other Christian faiths were not found 
among the great numbers that now poured into the 
Middle West. There were many of all denominations, 
especially Presbyterians, who were second to the Bap- 
tists in establishing churches in Kentucky, and quite 
valiantly did they bear themselves in the struggle to 
improve not only their material, but the moral condi- 
tions in their new homes. It is not our purpose nor 
desire to derogate a tithe from the praise due to other 
denominations for their contribution to the moral 
enlightenment of the new territory, and yet to the 
Baptists is due the credit of first proclaiming the 
story of the cross in this great western wilderness. 

It appears that Daniel Boone was not a Baptist, 
but several members of his family were, and a brother, 
Squire Boone, was a Baptist preacher before coming 
to Kentucky. Many of the first settlers in Kentucky 
were Baptists. 

"As in Kentucky so in Ohio. The first church 
organized in the Northwest territory was the Colum- 
bia Baptist, whose date is January 20, 1790. The Co- 
lumbia Township was then about five miles from what 
is now the site of Cincinnati — the growth of the latter 
city having brought Columbia within her corporate 
limits. In 1889 a monument commemorative of this 
event was erected on the site of the first house of wor- 



Period of Preparation 21 

ship built by the church. Two inscriptions recite the 
date of the coming of the Baptist pioneers, the date 
of organization, the name of the constituent members 
and the purchase of two acres of ground as a building 
lot from Maj. Benjamin Stites, who was at the head 
of the first band of pioneers that settled on Ohio soil 
and who later became a prominent member of this 
church. ' ' 

The same is true of Illinois. In Illinois territory 
in 1786, thirty-two years before its admission as a 
state, the Lemen family had founded the first church, 
organized the first association and were the leaders in 
the anti-slavery movement before the days of Parker, 
Phillips and Garrison who led the later " abolition ' ' 
crusade. 

In the region beyond the Mississippi the word of 
the Lord sounded forth, and here again, according to 
Newman, the Baptists were the first to proclaim it, 
and so the above facts would seem to indicate that it 
would not be difficult to prove that the Baptists were 
the first to preach the Gospel in the valley of the Mis- 
sissippi; and in reading the record of those days of 
toil and privation it is interesting indeed to meet with 
the names of those who became the noble progenitors 
of sons and daughters who today in secular and relig- 
ious pursuits are bearing themselves worthily and, by 
their devotion to the cause for which their fathers 
suffered, and for which many of them died, show that 
they are not insensible to the high source from which 
they sprang. The period of preparation for our Bap- 
tist hosts of Kentucky was a period of heroic struggle 
and grand achievements. 



CHAPTER II 

The First Preaching in Kentucky 

There has been much misunderstanding and dif- 
ference of opinion as to who did the first preaching in 
Kentucky. It was maintained for quite a while by 
the Baptists and some others, that Thomas Tinsley 
and William Hickman, Baptist ministers, did the first 
preaching in Kentucky at Harrodsburg in 1776, but 
this is an error, for Collins in his "History of Ken- 
tucky" says (page 501, Vol. 2) "Sunday 28, May, 
divine service for the first time in Kentucky was per- 
formed by the Rev. John Lythe." And again (Vol. 
I, page 441) Collins says: "The Rev. John Lythe of 
the Episcopal Church, or the Church of England, 
came early to Kentucky. When Col. Henderson estab- 
lished his proprietary government in 1775 Mr. Lythe 
was a delegate from the Harrodsburg station, or set- 
tlement, to the legislative assembly. The delegates 
met on the 23d of May, 1775, and the assembly having 
organized, divine service was performed by the Rev. 
Mr. Lythe, one of the delegates from Harrodsburg." 
Again in this same volume (page 515) "The first 
clergyman ever in Kentucky was the Rev. John Lythe 
of the Church of England who came to Harrodsburg 
April, 1775. This same preacher held the first preach- 
ing, or divine service, at Boonesborough on Sunday, 
May 28, 1775, under the shade of a magnificent elm 
tree." This was the Sunday following Henderson's 
convention. Yet on page 416 of this volume (I) in 
speaking of William Hickman, Sr., Collins says, "He 
was the first to proclaim the unsearchable riches of 
Christ in the valley of the Kentucky. ' ' Collins thus 
contradicts himself. Z. F. Smith in his History of 
Kentucky (Youth's edition, p. 89) says "Rev. John 
Lythe, of the Church of England, conducted the first 

22 



The First Preaching in Kentucky 23 

religious services known to have been held at Boones- 
borough May 28, 1775." He adds, however, " There 
may have been other religious services, and in other 
places, even earlier than this of which history does not 
give account." Now this last clause, I am sure, con- 
tains the truth. According to history Squire Boone, 
a Baptist preacher, was in Kentucky five years before 
the Rev. John Lythe came. Cathcart in his " Bap- 
tist Encyclopedia" says (Vol. I, p. 113) in speak- 
ing of Squire Boone, "It is not known at what period 
he united with the church or when he began to preach, 
but it was previous to his removal to the West," the 
date of which he gives as ' ' 1770. ' ' 

According to Collins' History of Kentucky (Vol. 
II, p. 56) on "the 22d December, 1769" Daniel Boone 
and Stuart were captured by the Indians and held by 
their captors "seven days, after which they escaped 
and returned to their camp which they found dis- 
mantled and deserted." This would put the date of 
1 ' their return to their camp ' ' probably December 30th 
or 31st. Collins then adds, "A few days after this, 
they were joined by Squire Boone, a brother of the 
great pioneer." This would make the date of the 
meeting of the brothers some time in January, 
1770, which is in perfect accord with other state- 
ments concerning Squire Boone's arrival in Ken- 
tucky. 

Dr. Spencer is in error when he, in his "Preface" 
to his "History of Kentucky Baptists" (page 9) 
speaks of giving "the history of the Baptists in Ken- 
tucky, from the time that Elder Squire Boone first set 
his foot on the soil of the unexplored wilderness, in 
the spring of 1769, down to the year 1885," for Col- 
lins' "History of Kentucky" (Vol. II, p. 711) says 
"Late in the fall of 1769, Squire Boone and another 
adventurer (name unknown) left the Yadkin in 
search of his brother Daniel," who "had gone to the 
wilds of Kentucky on the 1st of May preceding." 
Squire Boone was probably on Kentucky soil in the 
winter of 1769, but history does not record the fact. 



24 Kentucky Baptist History — 1770-1922 

In Daniel Boone 's autobiography, dictated to John 
Filson in 1784, as quoted by Collins (Vol. II, p. 711) 
Daniel Boone says ' ' On May 1, 1770, Squire returned 
home to the settlement by himself — for a new recruit 
of horses and ammunition, leaving Daniel by himself, 
without bread, salt or sugar, without company of his 
fellow creatures, or even a horse or dog. On July 27, 
1770, Squire met him, according to appointment, at 
the old camp, ' ' with the supplies. So there is no ques- 
tion about Squire Boone being in Kentucky in 1770. 
John Lythe arrived in Kentucky "April, 1775." On 
page 87 Smith's History in giving an account of the 
marriage of Sam Henderson and Elizabeth Calloway 
(one of the girls captured by the Indians and later 
rescued) says "Squire Boone, then an ordained min- 
ister of the Baptist Church, performed the first cere- 
mony in Kentucky. ' ' The marriage was one month 
after the rescue. Collins gives the date of this mar- 
riage as 1776 (Vol. I, p. 511) and says it was "per- 
formed by Squire Boone a preacher of the Calvinistic 
Baptist Church. ' ' This shows that Squire Boone was 
an active minister of the gospel. 

Now, if Squire Boone was a Baptist "Preacher 
before his removal to the West, ' ' as Cathcart says, and 
if he was active as a minister in Kentucky, marrying 
people, as history shows, and if there were ' ' 309 Bap- 
tists in Kentucky in 1774" as Asplund's Register 
records (quoted by Dr. W. P. Harvey in "Life and 
Times of William Hickman," p. 3) one year before 
Henderson's Convention, it stands to reason that 
there had been some Baptist preaching done in Ken- 
tucky before Henderson's Convention of May, 1775. 
The preaching of Mr. Lythe in May, 1775, is the first 
of which we have any record, and we would have had 
no record of this had it not taken place in connection 
with this convention, of which a record was kept. 
Dr. W. C. James in his "Western Baptist Theological 
Institute" of Covington, Kentucky, says "Squire 
Boone, a Baptist preacher, was the first man to preach 
the gospel in Kentucky and perhaps in the whole 



The First Preaching in Kentucky 25 

West." It is quite clear that the Rev. Squire Boone 
was the first preacher in Kentucky, and as he was 
here several years prior to Henderson's Convention 
active as a minister we think Dr. James is eminently 
correct in saying he "was the first to preach the gos- 
pel in Kentucky." This is peculiarly true since Bap- 
tists have always been a preaching people. 

John Filson in his history of Kentucky, the date 
of which is 1784, says on page 301 in speaking of 
the "manners and customs" of the people of Ken- 
tucky, "they have a diversity of manners, customs, 
and religions, which may in time perhaps be modified 
to one uniform." He then adds "The Anabaptists 
were the first that promoted public worship in Ken- 
tucky. " It is worth noticing that the Baptists as late 
as 1784 were called "Anabaptists" by this historian. 
This shows that the people now called Baptists were 
once called Anabaptists. 

To "promote public worship" evidently meant 
"held preaching services," as this is the way Bap- 
tists promoted public worship. One can hardly reach 
any other conclusion. Daniel Boone, Levi Todd and 
James Harrod, according to a signed statement, read 
and revised Filson 's history, and they declare it to be 
"as accurate as can possibly be made." (page 271 — 
Date, May, 1784). Here is a statement by the ear- 
liest historian in Kentucky, that the Baptists first pro- 
moted public worship in Kentucky, and this statement 
has the endorsement of three of the earliest settlers, 
who were, as they say, "well acquainted with the 
country from its first settlement." Davidson in his 
history of the Presbyterian Church in Kentucky, page 
86, referring to the pioneer Baptists of Kentucky 
says : "To them belongs the credit of having been the 
first to inaugurate the regular public worship of God 
and the organization of churches. ' ' This should settle 
the question beyond any doubt that the Baptists were 
the first to conduct public worship in Kentucky, or 
did the first preaching in the state, and established 
the first churches. 



X 



26 Kentucky Baptist History — 1770-1922 

The first record we have of Baptists preaching in 
Kentucky is the preaching of the Revs. Thomas Tins- 
ley and William Hickman, which was in April, 1776, 
at Harrodsburg. In "The Life and Travels of Wil- 
liam Hickman" he writes "We got to Harrodsburg 
the first day of April, 1776. Myself, Brother Thomas 
Tinsley, my old friend, Mr. Morton, took our lodging 
at Mr. John Gordon 's, four miles from town. 

"Mr. Tinsley was a good old preacher, Mr. Mor- 
ton a good pious Presbyterian and love and friend- 
ship abounded among us. We went nearly every Sun- 
day to town to hear Mr. Tinsley preach. I generally 
concluded his meetings. One Sunday morning sitting 
at the head of a spring at this place, he laid his Bible 
on my thigh and said, 'You must preach today.' He 
said if I did not he would not. It set me in a tremor. 
I knew he would not draw back. I took the book and 
turned to the 23d chapter of Numbers and tenth 
verse: 'Let me die the death of the righteous and 
let my last end be like his.' " The above is from 
"The Life and Times of William Hickman" as 
quoted in Publication No. 1 of the Kentucky Bap- 
tist Historical Society (page 6) by W. J. McGlothlin, 
D.D. 

Elder John Taylor in his "History of Ten 
Churches" (page 48) says of William Hickman: "In 
'76 he paid a visit to Kentucky and here the same 
year he first began to preach." From this date we 
have no trouble finding records of Baptist preaching 
in the State, though as yet there is no Baptist organi- 
zation on Kentucky soil. 

Benedict in his History of the Baptists, (page 
811) says of Kentucky: "Many of the early settlers 
of this state were Baptists. Some came as early as 
1775, and several Baptist ministers, among whom 
were the late John Taylor, and Lewis Lunsford, 
(known in Virginia as THE WONDERFUL BOY), 
made a visit to this land of promise. They returned 
to Virginia for a period, without constituting any 
churches. The few brethren they found in the coun- 



The First Preaching in Kentucky 27 

try were in an unpleasant state, cold and neglectful 
in religion, constantly exposed to Indian depreda- 
tions, and destitute of provisions in a great measure, 
except what the wild game furnished. The soil was 
luxuriant, and the country enriched with all the beau- 
ties of uncultivated nature. The people lived in 
* stations' or forts. These ministers preached a few 
times, and gave the people such advice as suited their 
circumstances. 

" About 1781, several Baptist preachers and many 
brethren migrated to this new country. At that 
period, removal from Virginia to Kentucky was a 
slow and hazardous business. Two modes were 
adopted, one by land, the other by water. The first 
was performed on horseback, with a few bare necessa- 
ries of life on pack horses, over a vast tract of moun- 
tainous wilderness. Exposure to attacks from the 
Indians compelled them to perform their journeyings 
in caravans, with sentries stationed round their camps 
at night. The other mode was to embark on the Ohio 
river in a flat boat, and float down with the current 
to Limestone, or to Bear-grass Creek, (now Maysville 
and Louisville) the two principal landings 

"The Baptist emigration into this State was, in 
a great degree, from Virginia. A few families came 
from the Red Stone Country in Western Pennsylva 
nia, and a few more from New Jersey. This denomi 
nation was not only the earliest in preaching the gos- 
pel and forming churches, but for numbers and 
influence held the ascendency for many years. It is 
still the most numerous, influential and wealthy 
denomination in the state." 

At the close of the American war a flood of Bap- 
tists poured into Kentucky, mostly from Virginia by >^ 
whom a number of churches were constituted. 

It seems to be a well established fact that the first 
preaching in Kentucky was by the Baptists. 

Mr. Roosevelt says: "By the time Kentucky was 
settled the Baptists had begun to make headway on 
the frontier, at the expense of the Presbyterians. The 



28 Kentucky Baptist History— 1770-1922 

rough democracy of the border welcomed a sect which 
was itself essentially democratic. " (" The Winning of 
the West," Vol. II, p. 113). 

We think the facts clearly warrant the statement 
that the Baptists did the first preaching in Kentucky. 



CHAPTER III 
The First Churches Constituted — 1781 

"It is a well established fact in history that the 
Baptists were the pioneers of religion in Kentucky. 
They came with the earliest permanent settlers, ' ' says 
Collins' history. 

In the year 1780 many Baptists, chiefly from Vir- 
ginia removed to this state but it was not until the 
summer of the following year that a church was con- 
stituted. 

Severn's Valley — June 18, 1781 

The first church of any denomination constituted 
on Kentucky soil, so far as history shows, was the 
Severn's Valley Baptist church which was constituted 
June 18, 1781. We learn from Spencer's History of 
Kentucky Baptists (Vol. I, p. 21) : "There are facts 
and circumstances connected with the early history 
of the Church with which the present generation is 
little acquainted. When this present widespread and 
favored country was but a wilderness; when not a 
human habitation was to be found between Louisville 
(then called the Falls of the Ohio) and Green river, 
save a few families, who had ventured to Severn's 
Valley — a dense forest, and unexplored — and com- 
menced a rude settlement far from the haunts of civi- 
lized man ; there the lamented John Gerrard, a minis- 
ter of God, came like John the Baptist, 'The Voice of 
One Crying in the Wilderness/ and finding a few of 
the disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ like sheep with- 
out a shepherd, on the 18th day of June, 1781, they 
were collected together under a green sugar tree ; and 
in the fear of God, in church covenant gave them- 
selves to the Lord and to one another, and were con- 
stituted a Baptist Church, named after Severn 's Val- 

29 



\t 



30 Kentucky Baptist History— 1770-1922 

ley and the creek which flows through it. It has ever 
borne the same name, none having dared, and it is 
hoped never may, to lay impious hands upon it by 
changing its venerable and venerated name — 'Sev- 
ern's Valley Church.' " 

From "Haycraft's History of Elizabeth town, 
Kentucky, and Its Surroundings, ' ' which was written 
by Samuel Haycraft and published in the Elizabeth- 
town News in 1869, and published in book form in 
1921, we gather the following facts concerning the 
Severn 's Valley Baptist Church, which is now located 
in Elizabethtown. 

"On the 17th (this should be the 18th) day of 
June, 1781, under the shadow of a green sugar tree, 
near Haynes Station, a Baptist Church was consti- 
tuted with eighteen members, by Elder William Tay- 
lor and Joseph Barnett, preachers, with Elder John 
Gerrard, who was ordained first pastor. The church 
was called the Regular Baptist Church of Severn's 
Valley. The same church still exists in Elizabeth- 
town and is known by the name of the United Bap- 
tist Church of Christ, called Severn's Valley, and is 
now the oldest Baptist church that maintains an exis- 
tence in Kentucky. All of the members and the 
preacher emigrated from Virginia, and Elder Gerrard 
might have been emphatically styled 'the voice of 
one crying in the wilderness.' 

' ' This man of God was only permitted to exercise 
the functions of his office for nine months." (Page 
14). It is supposed that he was killed by the In- 
dians, as he went out hunting one day and never 
returned, and as the wilderness was infested with hos- 
tile Indians at that time. 

We say the date should be June 18, not 17, because 
the history of Salem Association written by its clerk, 
Spencer Clack, in 1826 says: "On Saturday, the 
29th of October, 1785, four Eegular Baptist Churches 
met at Cox's Creek, Nelson County, Kentucky, by 
their delegates, in order to form an association, and, 
after a suitable sermon on the occasion, preached by 



The First Churches Constituted—1781 31 

our brother, Joseph Barnett, from the first chapter of 
John and 17th verse, proceded to business. Brother 
Joseph Barnett was made moderatio, and Brother 
Andrew Paul, clerk. 

"I. Letters from four churches were read, viz.: 
Severns Valley, constituted June eighteen, seven hun- 
dred and eighty-one, number of members, thirty-seven. 
No pastor. " The number of members, of course, 
refers to the number when the church went into the 
association — not when constituted. 

Another reason why we say the date (June 17) in 
Haycraf t 's history is incorrect : we find that this same 
Samuel Haycraf t published a history of Severn 's Val- 
ley Church in Ford's Christian Repository of April, 
1857, in which he stated that "The church was con- 
stituted of 18 members, June 18, 1781, under a 
green sugar tree, about a half mile from the present 
limit of Elizabethtown, the county seat of Hardin/ ' 
This was while Mr. Haycraft was living, and if the 
date had been published incorrectly he evidently 
would have said so. 

Mr. Haycraft, on the next page (15) of his his- 
tory, gives a very interesting account of the manners 
and customs of the members of this old church, which 
we here reproduce: 

' ' Church going folks of the present day who make 
it a point to appear in their best attire at the public 
religious services might feel some curiosity to know 
how our ancestors appeared on such occasions, and I 
hope they will not blush at the description. I 
received my impression from Jacob Vanmeter, who 
was the younger Jacob Vanmeter in the original con- 
stitution of the church. He died a few years since at 
the advanced age of about ninety-five, having been a 
Baptist about eighty-four years. 

"They then had no house of worship. In the sum- 
mer time they worshipped in the open air, in the win- 
ter time they met in the round-log cabins with dirt 
floors, as there was no mills and plank to make a floor. 
A few who had aspired to be a little aristocratic split 
timber and made puncheon floors. 



32 Kentucky Baptist History— 1770-1922 

1 ' The men dressed as Indians ; leather leggins and 
moccasins adorned their feet and legs. Hats made of 
splinters rolled in Buffalo wool and sewed together 
with deer sinews or buckskin whang ; shirts of buck- 
skin and hunting shirts of the same ; some went the 
whole Indian costume and wore breech-clouts. The 
females wore a coarse cloth made of Buffalo wool, 
underwear of dressed doe skin, sun bonnets, something 
after the fashion of men's hats and the never-failing 
moccasin for the feet in winter, in summer time all 
went barefooted. When they met for preaching or 
prayer, the men sat with their trusty rifles at their 
sides, and as they had to watch as well as pray, a 
faithful sentinel keeping a lookout for the lurking 
Indian. But it so happened that their services were 
never seriously interrupted, except on one occasion. 
One of the watches came to the door hole during a 
sermon and endeavored by signs and winks to apprise 
the people that something was wrong — not being 
exactly understood, a person within winked at the 
messenger, as much as to say, i Don't interrupt us.' 
But the case being urgent, the outside man exclaimed, 
'None of your winking and blinking — I tell you the 
Indians are about.' That was understood, the meet- 
ing was closed, and military defense organized. Now, 
gentle and fair reader, I beseech you not to blush or 
be ashamed of your forerunners ; they were the chosen 
of God and nature's nobility." 

Our present day worshipers who live in their 
splendid homes and worship in their magnificent 
churches will read this account of the customs of our 
forefathers with absorbing interest. The following is 
from "Hay craft's History of Elizabethtown and Its 
Surroundings" (page 82): "The Baptists were the 
first in order of time in this valley. Their member- 
ship was scattered and covered a great deal of ground. 
For the accommodation of the church the monthly 
meetings were held alternately at the Valley and 
Nolin. These meetings were held in open air or a 
private house for many years. Old Nolin church 



The First Churches Constituted— 1781 33 

was constituted in 1803 by a mutual agreement. ' ' This 
explains why Nolin Church is some times referred to 
as the oldest church in Kentucky. Benedict in his 
"History of the Baptists," published 1848, on page 
811, Chapter XXII— Kentucky, says: "The church 
called Nolin is supposed to have been the first Prot- 
estant religious society organized in the great West." 
The statement of Samuel Haycraft clears up this 
point in our history, and shows that Benedict is in 
error, and at the same time shows how the error 
easily occurred. Several other historians followed 
Benedict in this error. 

In the minutes of the Green Eiver Association, of 
which Severn's Valley was now a member, for the 
year 1802, meeting held at "Mill Creek Meeting 
House, in Barren County, Kentucky, on Saturday 
31st July 1802," has the following item: "Severns 
Valley church, messengers, Jacob LaRue, Christo- 
pher Miller, Geo. Helm. Baptized 125, reed by 
letter 12, dismissed by letter 7, dead 2, total member- 
ship 156." We call attention to this item because of 
the large number of members received during the past 
associational year. More than half the membership 
reported had been received since the 1801 session of 
the association. This, as will be remembered, was dur- 
ing the "Great Revival of 1800," and following. 

Another item in that same minute (1802) says: 
"Letters from thirty churches were read. Twelve of 
which had been constituted since last association, were 
received. ' ' 

These two items help us to estimate the results of 
the revival of 1800 and the years immediately follow- 
ing. 

We have given a somewhat extended account of 
this church because it was the first church on Ken- 
tucky soil. 

Cedar Creek Church — July 4, 1781 

We come now to the second church in Kentucky, 
and which, but for patriotic reasons, might have been 



34 Kentucky Baptist History—1770-1922 

the FIRST. This was only a few years after the 
Declaration of Independence and while the Revolu- 
tionary War was still continuing. This explains why 
those who constituted this church waited for the 
Fourth of July. 

" Cedar Creek Church," says Spencer (Vol. I, 
page 23), "was the second organized in Kentucky. It 
was gathered by Joseph Barnett who was assisted in 
its constitution by John Gerrard, July 4, 1781. It is 
located in Nelson county about five miles southwest 
from Bardstown. The first pastor was Joseph Bar- 
nett." This church is still in existence and reports 
200 members. 

The next church on Kentucky soil was the Gil- 
bert's Creek Church which was brought over in a 
body from Virginia and located in Kentucky, Decem- 
ber, 1781. Lewis Craig was the pastor of this church. 
Attracted by the glowing accounts which were given 
by returning explorers of the beautiful scenery, the 
unexcelled productiveness, and the abundance of wild 
game of the charming region beyond the mountains, 
and revolting against the ecclesiastical' persecution 
and domination of the State Church authorities of 
Virginia, the larger number of the members of this 
church, having been, at their own request, constituted 
into an independent church, and taking along with 
them the pastor and the old church book, began their 
long and tedious journey to the "foreign land." Car- 
rying their women, children, and baggage on horse- 
back, they travelled through the wilderness for 600 
miles. Famine, cold, fatigue, and sickness impeded 
their journey. The wild beast and treacherous Indian 
made perilous their march. Winter, with its ice, 
snow, and mud, tested their patience and tried their 
strength. Many times during their journey, when a 
halt was called, did they engage in religious services. 
Many times did the primeval forest of the Dark 
and Bloody Ground resound with the hymns of Zion j 
the vales which formerly had reverberated with the 
scream of the catamount or the war whoop of the 



The First Churches Constituted— 1781 35 

infuriated savage, now for the first time echoed with 
the hallelujahs of the saints. The "Great Spirit," 
whom the savages ignorantly worshipped by means of 
magic and incantations, was now worshipped "in 
spirit and in truth." On the second Sunday in De- 
cember, 1781, weary and exhausted, they arrived at 
Gilbert's Creek, and there permanently located. The 
church entered into the organization of Elkhorn Asso- 
ciation in 1785. Dr. S. H. Ford, in the Christian 
Repository of March, 1856, (page 137), says of Craig 
and his traveling charge : "About the first of Decem- 
ber, they passed the Cumberland Gap, .... and 
on the second Lord's day in December, 1781, they 
had arrived in Lincoln (now Garrard County) and 
met as a Baptist Church of Christ at Gilbert 's Creek. ' ' 
Then Dr. Ford adds, ' ' Old William Marshall preached 
to them, with their pastor, the first Sunday after their 
arrival." John Taylor, in a biographical sketch of 
Lewis Craig, says: "I think he moved to Kentucky 
in the fall of 1781." Dr. J. B. Taylor, another of his 
biographers, says: "It has already been stated that 
in 1781, he removed to the West." Dr. R. B. Semple, 
in his history of the Rise and Progress of the Baptists 
in Virginia, Revised and extended edition (p. 200), 
says, in speaking of Craig's Church, "formerly called 
Upper Spottsylvania " .... "in 1781, to the great 
mortification of the remaining members, Mr. Craig, 
with most of the church, moved to Kentucky. ' ' Then 
in a footnote on the same page, Dr. Semple, after 
naming their location in Kentucky, ' ' Gilbert 's Creek, 
Lincoln (now Garrard) County," says, "They were 
the third Baptist Church constituted in Kentucky, 
and held their first meeting on the second Sunday in 
December." This fixes the date of this church in Ken- 
tucky. This church has long since ceased to exist as 
an organization, though out of it came other churches. 
Dr. W. M. Pratt says in "Jubilee Volume" (page 
40) : "In 1781 Lewis Craig, and probably his brother 
Joseph, came to Kentucky, followed, in 1786, by 
another brother, Elijah, and by his brother-in-law, 



v 



36 Kentucky Baptist History— 1770-1922 

Richard Cave, a pioneer preacher. These Craigs were 
the sons of Toliver Craig, of Orange County, Virginia, 
whose large family of seven sons and four daughters 
were members of the church. The three sons who 
came to Kentucky were effective preachers in Vir- 
ginia, and were a number of times thrown in prison. 
Lewis Craig, the elder of the three, was pastor of the 
* migrating church' of two hundred, of Upper Spott- 
sylvania, and after a long, fatiguing pilgrimage, main- 
taining their organization and worship on the way, 
settled on Gilbert Creek, Garrard County, October, 
(this should be December— Editor) 1781. Elijah 
Craig was first pastor of Big Crossing, laid out the 
town of Georgetown, established the classical school 
in that place, which is now the seat of Georgetown 
College. These two brothers were men of strong 
minds and of great influence in molding the character 
of the infant churches." 

The three churches above named (Severn's Valley, 
Cedar Creek and Gilbert's Creek) were the only 
churches in Kentucky in 1781 according to history. 
Mr. Roosevelt is evidently in error when he says 
("Winning the West," Vol. II, p. 254), "Thus this 
spring (1780) "a third of the congregation of a Low 
Dutch Reformed Church came to Kentucky bodily to 
the number of fifty heads of families, with their 
wives and their children." He then adds, "The fol- 
lowing year a Baptist congregation came out from 
Virginia, keeping up its organization while on the 
road, the preacher holding services at every long 
halt." There is plenty of evidence that the Baptist 
church came to Kentucky that year (1781) but no evi- 
dence that a "Low Dutch Reformed Church" was 
established in Kentucky in 1780. In fact, Filson after 
saying ■ ' The Anabaptists were the first that promoted 
public worship in Kentucky, ' ' says the only other sect 
at this time maintaining worship in Kentucky is the 
Presbyterians with four congregations. He says "at 
present there are no other religious societies formed, 
although several other sects have numerous adher- 



The First Churches Constitutedr—1781 37 

exits" (301). So Filson in 1784 knew nothing of a 
"Low Dutch Reformed Church" in Kentucky, neither 
do other Kentucky historians. True Mr. Roosevelt 
does not say this church established itself in Ken- 
tucky as a church, but that is the inference. Dr. J. 
M. Cramp in his Baptist History in speaking of Ken- 
tucky Baptists says: "In 1781 the first church was 
organized at Nolin. (This is the Severn's Valley 
Church — Editor). That church is supposed to have 
been the first Protestant religious society organized in 
the Great West. ' ' The above is practically the state- 
ment of all the historians. 

In the year 1790 there were in Kentucky forty- 
two churches, forty ordained ministers, twenty-one 
licensed preachers and 3,105 members. The list of 
early churches here given is by Dr. W. M. Pratt in 
Jubilee Volume (page 38) : 

"In 1782, Forks of Dix River was founded by 
Lewis Craig. In 1783, South Elkhorn, Fayette 
County, was founded by the removal of Lewis Craig, 
and a large portion of his church at Gilbert's Creek 
to this place, the first church north of Kentucky 
River. 

"In 1784, Bear Grass Church, Jefferson County, 
six miles east of Louisville, was constituted by John 
Whitaker, and Howard Creek (now Providence), 
Clark County, by Elder Robert Elkin. (This church 
really came over from Virginia in a body as a con- 
stituted church, as the old records show, and has a 
continuous history from its constitution in Virginia. 
Thus, it is the oldest church constitution on Kentucky 
soil, but not the first in Kentucky. — Nowlin.). 

"In 1785, twelve churches were founded, viz.: 
Limestone (now Washington), Mason County, by El- 
der William Wood; Clear Creek, Woodford County, 
by Elder John Taylor; Pottenger Creek, Nelson 
County, by Benjamin Lynn; Cox Creek, Nelson 
County, by William Taylor; Brachears (Clear 
Creek), Shelby County, by Elder William Taylor and 
John Whitaker; Rush Branch, Lincoln County, by 



38 Kentucky Baptist History— 1770-1922 

Elder John Bailey; Head of Boone Creek, by Elder 
Joseph Craig; Big Crossing, Scott County, by Elder 
Elisha Craig ; Tates Creek, Madison County, by Elder 
John Tanner; Town Fork (Lexington), by Elder 
John Gano; Bryant Station, Fayette County, by 
Elder Lewis Craig; Boone Creek (Athens), by Elder 
David Thompson. 

"In 1786, Tate's Creek, Madison County, by Elder 
Andrew Tribble. 

"In 1787, Marble Creek (East Hickman), Fayette 
County, by Elders William Hickman and John Price ; 
Cooper's Run, Bourbon County, by Elder Augustine 
Eastin; New Providence, Lincoln County, by Elder 
William Marshall; South Fork, Nelson County, by 
Elder James S. Skaggs. 

"In 1788, Huston Creek, Bourbon County, by 
Elder Moses Bledsoe; Forks of Elkhorn, Franklin 
County, by Elder William Hickman; Rolling Fork, 
Nelson County, by Elder John Carman; Buck Run, 
Franklin County, by Elders John and James Dupuy ; 
Shawnee Run, Mercer County, by Elder John Rice. 

"In 1789, Hardin Creek, Nelson County, by Elder 
Baldwin Clifton; May's Lick, Mason County, by El- 
ders Wood and Garrard. 

"In 1790, Indian Creek, Harrison County, by El- 
der A. Eastin ; Unity, Clark County ; Hickman Creek 
and Hardin Creek, Mercer County; Mount Pleasant, 
Franklin County, and West Fork, Cox Creek, Nelson 
County, White Oak, Nelson County. 

"1791, Stony Point, Mercer County, Strode 's 
Fork, Fayette County, Taylor's Fork, Green Creek, 
Bourbon, Bloomfield, Nelson County; Crab Orchard, 
Lincoln County; Pitman's Creek and Brush Creek, 
Green County." 

A number of other churches constituted within 
this period are not named, as they had been dis- 
banded. 
Some Early Customs in Kentucky Baptist Churches 

Dr. Spencer says (Vol. I, p. 485) : "Ruling Elders 
were nominal officers in many of our early churches. 



The First Churches Constitutedr—1781 39 

The name can only be appropriate when applied to 
the officer it designates, in a church having a Presby- 
terian form of government. In a Baptist church, the 
term is a misnomer. ' ' This custom soon passed away. 

The practice of the laying on of hands was com- 
mon. John Taylor in his ' ' History of Ten Churches, ' ' 
says (page 10) : "The rite of laying on of hands, on 
the newly baptized, was practised by the Baptists in 
those days; this practice was performed as follows: 
Those upwards of fifty, stood up in one solemn line, 
on the bank of the river, taking up about as many 
yards as there were individuals — the males first in 
line, about four ministers went together, each one laid 
his right hand on the head of the dedicated person, 
and one prayed for him, and after praying for three 
or four of them, another proceeded till they went 
through. It would appear as if that solemn dedica- 
tion might be some barrier to future apostasy; for 
the prayers were with great solemnity and fervor, 
and for that particular person according to their age 
and circumstances." 

Dr. Spencer says (Vol. I, page 486) : "Laying on 
of hands was a ceremony in common use among the 
early Baptists of Virginia and Kentucky, as well as*? 
some other regions." He adds, however, "The cere- 
mony has long since been discontinued among the 
churches in Kentucky. ' ' 

The washing of feet seems to have been a very 
common ceremony among some of the early churches .1 
of Kentucky. "Among the Eegular Baptists, it was j 
practiced partially a few years, and then went en- 
tirely out of use," says Spencer. (Vol. I, p. 486). 

None of these "early customs" are now in use 
among the Baptists of Kentucky, so far as the author 
knows. 

We give two old subscription lists here of some 
interest. The first is for pastor's salary in South 
Elkhorn Church, and has on it thirty-six gallons of 
whiskey. The other is a facsimile of a subscription 
found in minutes of the Robinson & Pitman Church — 



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42 Kentucky Baptist History — 1770-1922 

now Campbellsville Church — and containing eight 
gallons of whiskey. 

In contrast with the above subscription lists we 
give the following which was adopted by the South 
Kentucky Association No. 3 at its organization in 
1845. Says Spencer (Vol. II, 580) : "No church 
shall be considered in good standing in this union, 
that will encourage, by laxity of discipline, or other- 
wise, the making and vending of ardent spirits as a 
beverage, etc." 

This shows the change of sentiment on the whiskey 
traffic in forty-seven years among the early Kentucky 
Baptists. And as compared with the present, it strik- 
ingly illustrates the great progress made in temper- 
ance reform in these 124 years. 

What was true of the early Baptist churches in 
this country was true of churches of other denomina- 
tions touching the whiskey traffic. Baptists were no 
worse and no better in this particular than those of 
other religious bodies of that time. 



CHAPTER IV 

The Fikst Associations Constituted — 1785 

It is customary with Baptists when they have a 
few churches close enough together for organization 
to form them into associations, and the early Baptists 
of Kentucky were no exception to this rule. Within 
four years and four months from the time the first 
church is constituted in Kentucky we find two asso- 
ciations constituted. The first of these was the Elk- 
horn which was constituted October 1, 1785, and the 
second was the Salem, constituted October 29, 1785. 

The Elkhorn Association 

Spencer says: "At the close of the year 1785 
there had been constituted in Kentucky eighteen 
churches. " He also says "The year 1785 was one of 
great interest, and much activity among the Baptists 
of Kentucky. Hitherto each little church had stood 
isolated from its sisters. No organization existed 
through which the churches could work together in 
harmony. " John Taylor in his "History of Ten 
Churches" (page 55) gives an account of the organi- 
zation of the Elkhorn Association. After speaking of 
the churches needing the aid of one another, he says : 
"We soon began to contemplate an association for 
that purpose and partly to bring about a union with 
the South Kentucky Baptists. We held a conference 
at South Elkhorn, in June, 1785, but failed in the 
union with the South Kentucky Baptists ; we agreed 
to meet as an association at Clear Creek October 1, 
1785. Six churches it seems met, one of them was 
from Tates Creek, south side of Kentucky, there and 
then, Elkhorn Association was formed." They met 
and had preaching at 3 P. M., September 30th and 
"the day following their coming together the messen- 

43 



44 Kentucky Baptist History — 1770-1922 

gers adopted the following constitution," says Spen- 
cer, so formed their organization on the first day of 
October, as John Taylor says. 

The Elkhorn Association was constituted of six 
churches, viz. : ' * Gilbert 's Creek, Tate 's Creek, South 
Elkhorn, Clear Creek, Big Crossing, and Limestone. 
The ministers representing these churches were El- 
ders George Stokes Smith, John Price, John Tanner, 
Lewis Craig, William Hickman, John Taylor, James 
Kucker, John Dupuy, and William Wood. This body 
was enlarged nearly every year until it comprised 
thirty-eight churches extending from Columbia 
Church near the mouth of Little Miami, Ohio, to Cum- 
berland, Tennessee. ' ' As this is the oldest association 
in the State we give a somewhat extended account of 
137 years of her glorious history. 

Large use is made at this point of Dr. W. M. Lee 's 
"History of Elkhorn Association," presented as his 
thesis for the doctor 's degree at the theological semi- 
nary, Louisville. 

The Elkhorn Association of Baptists, the first 
association of Baptist churches west of the Alleghany 
Mountains, is at present composed of twenty-nine 
churches, and is located in east central Kentucky, cov- 
ering what is known as the strictly Blue Grass sec- 
tion of the state. It includes all the Missionary 
Churches in Fayette, Woodford and Scott Counties, 
and some of those located in Bourbon, Grant, Frank- 
lin and Jessamine. It is bounded on the south and 
west by the Kentucky River, which with its pictur- 
esque canons furnishes perhaps the most beautiful 
and magnificent scenery to be found in Kentucky, and 
on the east by the south branch of Licking River, the 
divisive line between it and Union Association, which 
was organized out of Elkhorn in 1813. 

The original territory of Elkhorn Association was 
not so delimited and circumscribed. At one time dur- 
ing its history (1792-1796) it included churches as 
far north as "Columbia in the Western Territory," 
now Ohio, and as far south as Tennessee County, 



The First Associations Constituted — 1785 45 

Cumberland Settlement." At this time it covered 
perhaps 15,000 square miles. During the one hundred 
and thirty-five years of its existence, the association 
has included, at different times, one hundred and sev- 
enteen churches. The larger number of these 
churches have been dismissed from time to time to 
form sister associations in correspondence with Elk- 
horn ; some have been excluded on account of heresy ; 
whereas some have withdrawn on account of dissatis- 
faction with associational discipline. The ranks of 
the following Baptist Associations have been strength- 
ened by churches dismissed from Elkhorn, viz. : North 
District, Licking, Bracken, Union, Franklin, Green 
River, Tate's Creek, and North Bend. In addition to 
the above named sources of depletion, may be added 
the fact that during the war the churches composed 
of colored members withdrew to form associations of 
their own. 

In 1827, James Fishback, pastor of Lexington 
Church, created a division in his church by trying to 
change the name of it to the ' ' Church of Christ. ' ' He 
led off a minority of thirty-eight members and became 
their pastor. Rev. R. T. Dillard subsequently suc- 
ceeded in uniting the two factions. H. Davidge, of 
the Big Spring (Versailles) Church, created some 
stir by a pamphlet of the "Reforming" type, which 
he circulated. Campbell and his coadjutors won many 
of the best Baptist preachers and laymen over to the 
Reformation, prominent among them being Jacob 
Creath, his son, Jacob, Jr., William Morton and Jere- 
miah Vardeman. Many of the churches of the asso- 
ciation contained members of strong Campbellite sen- 
timent. Versailles, Providence, and South Elkhorn 
Churches were excluded from the association in 1830 
and 1831 because of their Reformed ideas. Minorities 
were carried off from many of the churches. In one 
year (1830-1831) the membership of the association 
dropped from 4,321 to 3,201. The association entered 
this period with 48 churches and 5,291 members; it 
ends the period with 25 churches and 4,321 members. 



46 Kentucky Baptist History— 1770-1922 

During the period it has lost 35 churches by dismis- 
sion and expulsion ; and has had twelve added to its 
membership. During the first year of the next period 
the membership will drop from 4,321 to 3,201. Yet 
the Kingdom of Heaven is growing all the while, we 
hope. 

Most of the doctrinal controversy of the period 
was instigated by the Reformers. Worship was fre- 
quently disturbed by questioners and mockers, who 
would either arise and interrupt the speaker or else 
laugh out in meeting in scorn and derision. Large 
audiences gathered to hear debates on baptism, 
creeds, or missionary societies. The prevalence of 
doctrinal controversy fostered doubt and infidelity and 
worldliness among the unconverted. The churches 
allowed heresy and disregard to church fealty to go 
undisciplined. 

An age of doctrinal polemics call for well equipped 
defenders of the faith. The great need of the Bap- 
tists was an educated ministry. Many of their 
most vigorous and aggressive ministers had gone over 
to the Reformers. A number of the enterprising min- 
isters and laymen of the Baptist persuasion petitioned 
the state legislature, in January, 1829, for a charter 
incorporating a board of trustees called "The Ken- 
tucky Baptist Educational Society." This charter 
was granted. The society had in view the establish- 
ment of a college under the control of Kentucky 
Baptists. Both Versailles and Georgetown entered 
into competition to secure the location of the col- 
lege. Georgetown won the prize by the gift of $6,000 
and a lot of land. This, together with a gift of $20,- 
000, donated by Isachar Paulding, constituted the 
property of the institution for the first ten years of 
its existence. 

This period extends from the year of the Campbel- 
lite schism to the beginning of the Civil War. Political 
affairs affect the association scarcely any at all, until 
near the end of the period, when much confusion pre- 
vailed on account of the gloomy forebodings of war. 



The First Associations Constituted — 1785 47 

The first year of this period witnessed the with- 
drawal of about 1,100 members from the churches; 
they followed the leaders of the current Keformation. 
In 1831 the association had only 3,201 members; in 
1861, at the end of the period, her members num- 
bered 7,760. This period is, therefore, a period of 
revivals and growth. It witnessed a growth of over 
125 per cent. The first period of revivals was during 
the years 1837-1843, when 3,285 members were added 
to the churches. It was at this time that religious 
services were first protracted to the length of a week 
or more, in Kentucky. During the first four years of 
this revival period, Licking Association, which 
opposed the lengthy protraction of services, added to 
her membership only 106 members ; during the same 
time Elkhorn witnessed the addition of 1,504 mem- 
bers to her churches. Elkhorn 's next revival period 
came in 1855-1861, during which time 3,144 members 
were added to the churches by baptism. 

Perhaps the principal cause of the recurrent revi- 
vals was the ardent missionary spirit which prevailed. 
The missionary activity of the period eclipses that of 
any former period. All varieties of missions received 
cordial and hearty support — foreign, domestic, and 
Indian. Especially was this true of the latter half 
of the period. During the earlier half, there was con- 
siderable opposition to all benevolent enterprises and 
societies. Daniel Parker, John Taylor, and Alexan- 
der Campbell had sown the seeds of opposition to 
organized effort that bore corrupt fruit for many 
years. And the end its not yet. The progressive 
leaders and missionary organizers of the sect of the 
Disciples, which is rapidly crystallizing into a denom- 
ination, have considerable difficulty in eradicating the 
tares of the anti-organization spirit from the minds 
of the less cultured, and consequently more polemical, 
element of their body. The tares sown by Campbell 
have proven to be as hardy as the wheat he sowed. 

Beginning with the revival of 1855-1861 a greater 
interest was taken in missions. Contributions grew 



48 Kentucky Baptist History— 1770-1922 

much larger. The larger contributions are due also, 
to a considerable extent, to the improved method of 
securing them. Before 1855 efforts at raising mission 
money were delayed until the association met, and 
collections were then taken. But beginning with the 
year 1855, a plan of benevolent effort was adopted, 
which yielded far better results. In 1840 and 1841, 
respectively, $137 and $58.62 were raised by the old 
plan for domestic missions. In 1859 and 1860, 
respectively, $1,223 and $1,438 were raised for the 
same object, by the new plan. The association had 
urged the churches as early as 1848 to adopt this new 
plan of systematic benevolence, but they had delayed 
in the matter. 

The General Association was organized in Louis- 
ville, October 20, 1837. In 1844, Elkhorn Association 
entered into full co-operation with it in all its plans. 
This was a great step forward, and was not accom- 
plished without opposition. The dormant energies of 
Elkhorn Association were roused by her connection 
with the General Association. In 1840, Elkhorn rec- 
ommended that her churches support Sunday Schools 
in their respective congregations. By 1845, only 
three churches had Sunday Schools. These were 
Mount Vernon, Lexington, and Georgetown churches. 
By the end of the period, however, there were thir- 
teen Sunday Schools and twenty weekly prayer- 
meetings operative in the association. 

Elkhorn Association is now passing through the 
one hundred and thirty-seventh year of its existence. 
It was born in the wild and romantic days of early 
Kentucky pioneer life, its birth being preceded only 
a few years by the birth of the American Eepublic. 
It counts many associations among its children and 
grandchildren. The association has today the largest 
number of white members that it has had at any 
time during its history. And it bids fair, in the good 
providence and grace of God, to do, in the years to 
come, a great and glorious work, for the advancement 
in the earth of the Kingdom of our Lord and Savior, 



The First Associations Constituted — 1785 49 

Jesus Christ. Elkhom at this time reports thirty- 
three churches, 10,837 members. 

The Salem Association 

The churches which formed the Salem Association 
were separated from those that went into the consti- 
tution of the Elkhorn by a vast wilderness still 
infested by wild Indians, and communication was 
difficult and infrequent at the time of which we write. 
Under such circumstances we are not surprised that 
the churches of the more westerly settlement were 
ignorant of what those on the Elkhorn were doing. 
But they, as their brethren on the Elkhorn, felt the 
need of an association in which they could meet at 
least once a year and devise ways and means for 
promoting the work of the kingdom. So according to 
Spencer's History (Vol. I, page 109 f) "On Satur- 
day, October 29, 1785, four Regular Baptist Churches 
met, by their messengers, on Cox's Creek, Nelson 
County, Kentucky, for the purpose of forming an 
association. A sermon suitable for this occasion was 
preached by Joseph Barnett, from John 2 :17. 

" Joseph Barnett was chosen moderator, and An- 
drew Paul, clerk. 

"Letters from four churches were read and the 
following facts recorded: 

"Severn's Valley, constituted June 18, 1781. Mem- 
bers 37. No pastor. 

"Cedar Creek, constituted July 4, 1781. Members 
41. Joseph Barnett, pastor. 

"Bear Grass, constituted January, 1784. Members 
19. John Whitaker, pastor. 

"Cox's Creek, constituted April, 1785. Members 
26. William Taylor, pastor. 

"This was the second Regular Baptist Association 
organized west of the Alleghany Mountains. It was 
constituted only twenty-nine days later than Elkhorn 
Association, and evidently had not heard of the exis- 
tence of the latter organization. For, after adopting 
the 'Philadelphia Confession of Faith, and the 



50 Kentucky Baptist History— 1770-1922 

treatise of Discipline thereto annexed, ' they proposed 
correspondence with the Philadelphia, Ketocton and 
Monongahela Associations, without mentioning Elk- 
horn. 

1 l The fraternity thus formed assumed the name of 
Salem Association of Regular Baptists, and comprised 
all the Regular Baptist Churches in Kentucky, west 
of Frankfort, the church on Brashears Creek having 
been dispersed by the Indians. It had but three 
preachers within the bounds of its immense territory, 
and it received but few accessions to its ministry, till 
it raised them up in its own churches. This body was 
very small at the beginning, and its growth was very 
slow till the great revival of 1800-3, when it received 
very large accessions, and has since maintained a 
prominent position among the associations of the 
state." 

The South Kentucky 

The South Kentucky Association is the third asso- 
ciation formed, and Doctor Spencer fixes the date as 
May, 1788. Aspland says this association was consti- 
tuted " about 1785." Other historians have followed 
Asplund and said it was ' ' constituted 1785, ' ' but the 
old records fix the date as 1788. The churches com- 
posing this association were Separate Baptist churches 
(Vol. II, p. 81). "In the minutes of the proceedings 
of South Kentucky Association, at its annual meet- 
ing in 1791, the following item is recorded: 

" 'The association agrees to abide by the plan 
upon which the churches of our union were consti- 
tuted (an association), in October, 1787, and May, 
1788.' 

"That is, after the example of Elkhorn, they held 
a preliminary meeting in October, 1787, and met again 
the following May to complete the organization. The 
constitution of this ancient fraternity, therefore, 
properly dates from May, 1788. 

1 ' The preliminary meeting convened at Tates Creek 
meeting house, in Madison County, the first Friday 



The First Associations Constituted — 1785 51 

in October, 1787. Eleven churches were represented. ' ' 
In speaking of the "Regular" and "Separate" Bap- 
tists Doctor Spencer says, "it was a distinction with- 
out a difference." This distinction, however, soon 
passed away as the two branches formed a union and 
called themselves the "United Baptists." This asso- 
ciation held its last meeting in August, 1801. This 
was the meeting at which the "terms of general 
union" were ratified by this body. 

Tates Creek Association 

The fourth association formed was the Tates 
Creek, and according to Spencer (Vol. I, p. 277) 
was as follows: 

"In 1793 a third effort was made to form a union 
between the Regular and Separate Baptists. At the 
meeting of Elkhorn Association, in May of that year, 
it was agreed that Ambrose Dudley, James Garrard, 
John Taylor, John Price and Augustine Eastin be 
appointed to visit the South Kentucky Association to 
confer with them on the subject of a union between 
the two bodies. Arrangements were made to have 
the churches of both associations to send messengers 
to a meeting to be held at Marble Creek, in Fayette 
County, in July. The meeting was accordingly held. 
A large majority of the messengers agreed on terms 
of union. But some of the Separates opposed the 
measure in such a manner as to defeat it. This so 
displeased some of the churches of South Kentucky 
Association that they at once declared nonfellow for 
that body. 

"On the 23d of the following November four 
churches met, by their messengers, and formed them- 
selves into an association under the style of 'Tates 
Creek Association of United Baptists.' This was the 
fourth association formed in Kentucky, and the first 
that styled itself United Baptists. This was done in 
imitation of the Baptists of Virginia, who had happily 
united and assumed this title six years before. 

"Tates Creek Association did not, at first, adopt 



52 Kentucky Baptist History— 1770-1922 

any confession of faith, but in general terms agreed 
to that adopted by Elkhorn and Salem. This gave 
some trouble, for, although Elkhorn entered into cor- 
respondence with the new fraternity immediately, it 
caused such uneasiness among some of the churches 
that she was compelled to withdraw her correspon- 
dence the next year. But in 1797 the correspondence 
was resumed, and has continued to the present time. ' ' 
Tates Creek is still a live and vigorous association. 

Bracken Association 

The first association constituted in Kentucky, 
according to Spencer (Vol. II, p. 96), was the 
Bracken, which was the eldest daughter of Elkhorn. 
" According to an arrangement made by Elkhorn 
Association, messengers from eight churches met at 
Bracken meeting house, near the present site of 
Minerva, in Mason County, on Saturday, May 28, 
1799. A sermon was preached by the venerable David 
Thomas. James Turner was chosen Moderator, and 
Donald Homes Clerk. After proper consideration, 
Bracken Association was constituted in due form. 
Five of the churches, viz.: Washington, May slick, 
Bracken (now Minerva), Stone Lick and Locust 
Creek, had been dismissed from Elkhorn Association. 
The ministers of the new fraternity were Lewis Craig, 
David Thomas, Donald Holmes and Philip Drake. 
William Wood, the first preacher who had settled 
within the present bounds of Bracken Association, 
had been excluded from Washington Church the year 
before the association was constituted. The venerable 
and illustrious Lewis Craig was regarded the father 
of this association. 

"This fraternity was small at first. At its meet- 
ing in the fall of 1799 it reported 9 churches with 
600 members. It did not share so largely in the fruits 
of the ' ' Great Revival, ' ' as did the other associations 
in the state. For, while the churches of Elkhorn re- 
ported, in 1801, 3,011 baptisms, and those of Tates 
Creek, 1,148, those of Bracken reported only 139. 



The First Associations Constituted — 1785 53 

The body, however, enjoyed a steady, healthful growth 
till 1805, when it numbered 19 church with 1,865 
members." This association reports now 28 churches 
and 2,442 members. 

Green River Association 

The sixth association formed in Kentucky was 
known as the Green River (Spencer, Vol. II, p. 105). 
"In 1799 there were about eight churches in what was 
known as the Green River country. In June of that 
year a conference was held at Sinking Creek meeting 
house, in Barren County, for the purpose of con- 
sidering the propriety of forming an association. The 
conclusion of the meeting was, that it was expedient 
for the churches to associate. An appointment was 
made for a meeting at the Sinks of Beaver Creek, 
to convene on the third Saturday in the following 
October, to carry into effect the sense of the present 
conference. The time and place of meeting were 
afterwards changed. Accordingly, messengers from 
several churches met at Mount Tabor meeting-house in 
Barren County, on the third Saturday in June, 1800, 
and Green River Association of nine Regular Baptist 
churches was constituted in due form. 

"A list of these churches is not now accessible; 
but those known to have been in existence at that 
time, within the territory occupied by the new fra- 
ternity, were Concord, Mud Camp (now Blue Spring), 
Mount Tabor, and Sinking Creek, in Barren County ; 
Brush Creek (and probably Pitman's Creek), in 
Green County; Sinks of Beaver Creek (now Drip- 
ping Springs, in Metcalf County) ; Mill Creek, in 
what is now Monroe County, and Severn's Valley, 
in Hardin County. The last named had broken off 
from Salem Association, some years before, on ac- 
count of that body tolerating slavery; hence its con- 
nection with Green River Association. It returned 
to Salem Association in 1803.' ' 

Spencer's account of Green River Association 
shows that he did not have the minutes until the ses- 



54 Kentucky Baptist History — 1770-1922 

sion of 1802, when he gives facts and figures accord- 
ing to the minutes, but the author, by the kindness 
of Hon. H. S. Robinson, Campbellsville, Kentucky, 
has before him the minutes for Green River Associa- 
tion for the years 1800, 1801, 1802, 1803 and 1804. 
These sessions are not numbered, but 1800 seems to 
be the first session. Doctor Spencer may be right 
when he says, "Accordingly, messengers from several 
churches met at Mount Tabor meeting-house, in Bar- 
ren County, on the third Saturday in June, 1800 ; and 
Green River Association of nine Regular Baptist 
churches was constituted in due form, ' ' but if so this 
must have been only a preliminary meeting, for the 
old minute of that year reads as follows : 
"Minutes of the Green River Association of Baptists. 
"Held at Trammel's Creek Meeting-house, in 
Green County, on Saturday, November 1, 1800, and 
continued by adjournment until Monday the 3rd. 
Saturday, November 1, 1800. At 12 o 'clock Elder Car- 
ter Tarrant delivered the introductory sermon from 
Psalms 55-14. We took sweet counsel together, and 
walked unto the house of God in company. After 
the sermon business was opened with prayer, when 
Elder Robert Stockston was chosen moderator, and 
John Chandler clerk. Letters from nine churches 
were read, their messengers' names enrolled, and a 
list of their numbers taken, which are as follows :" 
Here is given the list of the churches, the names of 
the messengers and the number of members in each 
church. The churches named are: Beaver Creek, 
Brush Creek, Pitman's and Robinson Creek, Sinking 
Creek, Trammel's Creek, Russell's Creek, Sinks of 
Beaver Creek, Barren, and Mill Creek. Of the nine 
churches they are all named for creeks but one. It 
will be observed that Severn's Valley is not in this 
list. Severn's Valley first appears in the minutes of 
1801. The minutes of that year report nineteen 
churches, nine of which came in at that session, and 
Severn's Valley is named as one of the nine. Then 
at the 1803 session the minutes mention the fact that 



The First Associations Constituted — 1785 55 

"Severn's Valley requests a letter of dismission from 
the association to join one more convenient — 
granted." According to the old minutes the nine 
churches of which Green River Association was con- 
stituted aggregated 361 members. The preachers in 
the organization, as far as known, were Alexander 
Davidson, Carter Tarrant, Eobert Stockton, Robert 
Smith, John Mulky, Elijah Summers, Benjamin Lynn, 
and probably Alexander McDougal and Baldwin 
Clifton. 

The association was constituted just about the 
commencement of "The Great Revival," and so the 
growth of the young fraternity was exceedingly 
rapid. Its third annual meeting was held at Mill 
Creek, in what is now Monroe County, July 31, 1802. 
Robert Stockton was chosen moderator and John 
Chandler clerk. Messengers were present from thirty 
churches, twelve of which had been constituted since 
the last session, which aggregated 1,763 members. 
The numerical strength of the body multiplied more 
than five-fold within two years. Benjamin Lynn, the 
Daniel Boone of the Kentucky Baptists, was present 
at this meeting, and was invited to a seat in the body. 
Elder Jonathan Mulky was present from Holston 
Association, in East Tennessee,; Lewis Moore, from 
Mero District ; Owen Owens, from Salem ; and letters 
from Elkhorn, Bracken and News (N. C.). It was 
"agreed to open correspondence with all the Baptist 
associations in Kentucky." These were Elkhorn, 
Salem, Tates Creek, Bracken, North District, South 
District, and Mero District, the latter being partly in 
Kentucky and partly in Tennessee. This shows that 
there was a time when all the Baptists in Kentucky 
were united. 

According to history there were six associations 
of Baptists in Kentucky in the year 1800, all of which 
have been constituted within a period of fifteen years. 
According to the minutes of Green River Association, 
1804, that body was divided into three associations — 
Green River, Russell's Creek, and Stockton's Valley. 



56 Kentucky Baptist History — 1770-1922 

Spencer says (Vol. II, p. 252), "When Green 
River Association divided on the question of missions, 
in 1840, it (the Salem church) entered with seven 
other churches into the constitution of Liberty Asso- 
ciation." This fixes the date when Green River 
Association became anti-missionary. 

The space allotted to this chapter is too limited to 
give even the names and dates of constitution of all 
the associations (there being at this date seventy-six 
in the state). We shall give only items of special 
historical interest from the others, and a summary 
at the end of the chapter. 

North District Association, according to history, 
resulted from a division of the old South Kentucky 
fraternity in August, 1801, and held its first annual 
meeting at Unity meeting-house in Clark County on 
the first Friday in October, 1802. 

There are several very interesting items recorded 
in the history of this association as given by Spencer 
(Vol. 2, p. 119 ff ) . One is the question of slavery 
which caused a division in the association as early as 
1807, fifty-four years before the war between the 
states. "The question of slavery continued to be 
agitated in the bounds of the association for nearly 
twenty years," says Spencer. These facts will be 
brought out fully in the chapter on "The Emancipa- 
tion Rupture." 

The next item of interest is the question of Camp- 
bellism, which took root early in the association and 
caused another split. "Mr. Campbell visited Mount 
Sterling as early as 1824, and preached three sermons 
there. John Smith, commonly known as ' Raccoon' 
John Smith, the most attractive preacher and the 
shrewdest manager in the association, was speedily 
converted to his views. Several other preachers of 
less note soon followed him. The churches withered 
under the constant disputations for two or three 
years. But suddenly, about the close of the year 
1827, a powerful religious excitement began to move 
the people here, as well as all over the northern part 



The First Associations Constituted — 1785 57 

of the state. Multitudes professed conversion and 
were baptized. The Campbellite preachers were by 
far the most active in this work. John Smith's 
biographer avers that Smith immersed most of the 
converts. Of course, they were * baptized for the re- 
mission of sins.' This meeting has been called, not 
inappropriately, 'John Smith's Revival.' During the 
two years, 1828 and 1829, the churches of North 
District reported 1,059 baptisms, while five new 
churches were constituted 'on the Bible.' The asso- 
ciation now numbered 24 churches with 2,265 mem- 
bers. But it was no longer a Baptist association. The 
Campbellites had an overwhelming majority in the 
association, as well as in most of the churches. The 
association went through the ordinary routine of busi- 
ness in 1829, and appointed to meet the next year 
at Spencer Creek. 

" Instead of attending the meeting at Spencer 
Creek, where they knew they would be in a hopeless 
minority, the Baptists called a convention, which met 
at Lulbegrud, in April, 1830. Only seven churches 
were represented. The principal business transacted 
by the meeting was the examination of the records 
of South Kentucky and North District associations, 
to ascertain what had been the duties and customs 
of those bodies. The investigation showed that the 
established customs of North District Association had 
been repeatedly and flagrantly violated during the 
last three years." The full report of the committee 
appointed to make the investigation and the action 
of the body will appear in a chapter on "The Camp- 
bellian Split. " * ' After giving their reasons for their 
conclusions, and transacting some other business, they 
conclude as follows : ' In conclusion, we declare that 
we withdraw from all churches that have departed, 
as before alleged, considering them in disorder and 
gone out of the union. But at the same time, our 
fellowship is not broken with such minorities, or in- 
dividual members, as are content with former usages 
of the churches' " (Spencer, Vol. 2, p. 123). This 



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60 Kentucky Baptist History— 1770-1922 

gives us an account of the beginning of Campbellism 
in Kentucky, the end of which is not yet. 

The next item of special interest is the account of 
Anti-missions which practically killed the association. 
* ' North District Association held its first meeting after 
the Campbellite schism at Howard's Upper Creek, 
in Clark County, on the fourth Saturday in July, 
1831. It embraced 11 churches with 950 members. 
Thomas Boone, David Chenault, and James Edmon- 
son were the only preachers left in the association. 
Small as the body was then, it has never been so large 
since. It was acknowledged and encouraged by all 
the surrounding associations; but it gradually de- 
clined in numbers. The anti-missionary complexion 
of the body was manifested by its dropping corre- 
spondence with all the neighboring associations, 
except Burning Spring, between the years 1837 and 
1842. In 1859 it assumed the name of 'Old Baptists,' 
which it still bears. At that time it numbered 9 
churches, aggregating 337 members. It has had but 
little variation in numbers from that time to the 
present. In 1880 it numbered 9 churches with 417 
members. From its organization in 1802 to the Camp- 
bellite schism in 1829 there were baptized into its 
churches 4,075 members. During the 39 years of 
which we have reports, since the Campbellite schism, 
there have been baptized into its churches 513 mem- 
bers. Its name, 'Old Baptists/ indicates that it is 
an anti-missionary body." (Spencer, Vol. 2, p. 124f.) 

Thus the once strong North District Association 
has practically died as the result of the anti-mission 
spirit. What the slavery agitation and the Camp- 
bellism split failed to do anti-missions accomplished. 

At the close of the year 1800 there were in Ken- 
tucky six associations — six churches belonging to the 
Mero District Association of Tennessee and three un- 
associated churches — with a total membership of about 
5,119. The six associations were Elkhorn, Salem, 
South Kentucky, Tate's Creek, Bracken and Green 
River. 



The First Associations Constituted — 1785 61 

The decade following 1800 added the following 
associations : North District and South District were 
formed by disbanding the old South Kentucky in 
1802, South Kentucky (1803), North Bend (1803), 
Long Run (1803), Russell's Creek (1804), Stockton's 
Valley (1805), Red River (1807), Cumberland River 
(1809), Licking (1810). As Long Run is the largest 
association in the state, we give here a short history 
of this body. The Long Run Association was con- 
stituted September 16, 1803, at Long Run Church in 
Jefferson County, Kentucky. It seems that prac- 
tically all of the churches that went into this constitu- 
tion were from the Salem Association, and according 
to a resolution adopted by that body at its nineteenth 
annual session. The Long Run body was constituted 
of 24 churches with a membership of 1,619. Im- 
mediately following the constitution of the association 
two other churches were received into their fellowship. 

Long Run includes all the Baptist churches in 
Louisville, and those in Jefferson County outside of 
Louisville and a few outside of Jefferson County. At 
the present time they report 50 churches and 16,830 
members. Their total contributions for last year is 
given as $427,548.08, while the valuation of church 
property is given at $1,091,529. This is a great 
association. 



CHAPTER V 

The Great Revival of 1800 

In the great revivals between 1797 and 1812, 
especially in Kentucky, most marked mental and 
spiritual phenomena appeared, such as "the Jerks," 
"The falling exercise/' etc. 

The first instance noted was in 1797, under the 
preaching of McGready and McGree, Presbyterian 
ministers. From thence it spread rapidly over Ken- 
tucky and parts of Tennessee, and soon became in- 
separable from the ' ' camp meetings, ' ' then so popular 
throughout the country. The following account is 
taken from Anti-Missionism (17-19) by Dr. B. H. 
Carroll, Jr.: 

"Some fell suddenly as if struck by lightning, 
while others were seized with a universal tremor the 
moment before, and fell shrieking. Piercing shrieks 
were uttered by many during the whole period of 
prostration, intermingled with groans, cries for mercy, 
and exclamations of "Glory to God!" In general 
there was no complaint of pain, but of general weak- 
ness during and after the paroxysms. Women would 
fall while walking to and from the meeting-house, 
engaged in narrating past exercises, or drop from 
their horses on the road. In this condition the subject 
would lie fifteen minutes or two or three hours; and 
we are even told of a woman's lying, without eating 
or speaking, for nine days and nights. Some were 
more or less convulsed, and wrought hard in frightful 
nervous agonies, the eyes rolling widely. But the 
greater number were quite motionless, as if dead or 
about to expire in a few moments. Some were capable 
of conversing, others were not. During the syncope, 
and even when conscious and talking on religious 
topics, the subject was insensible of pain. Vinegar 

62 



The Great Revival of 1800 63 

and hartshorn were applied with no perceptible 

effects During the great camp meeting at Cane 

Ridge, August 6, 1801, three thousand were computed 
to have fallen. 

"A similar affection to this was 'the jerking exer- 
cise,' or as it was commonly called, 'the jerks/ In 
this exercise the subject was instantaneously seized 
with spasms or convulsions in every muscle, nerve and 
tendon. His head was jerked from side to side with 
such rapidity that it was impossible to distinguish 
his visage, and the most lively fears were entertained 
lest he should dislocate his neck, or dash out his 
brains. His body partook of the same impulse, and 
was hurried on by jerks over every obstacle, fallen 
trunks of trees, or, in a church, over pews and 
benches, apparently to the most imminent danger of 
being bruised and mangled. It was useless to attempt 
to restrain or hold him, and the paroxysm was per- 
mitted gradually to exhaust itself. 

"Wicked men were often taken with these strange 
exercises, and many would curse the jerks while they 
were under their singular operation. Some were 
taken at the tavern with a glass of liquor in their 
hands, which they would suddenly toss over their 
heads or to a distant part of the room. Others were 
taken with them at the card table, and at other places 
of dissipation, and would by a violent and unaffected 
jerk throw a handful of cards all over the room. 

"The rolling exercise, the running exercise, the 
dancing exercise, the barking exercise, the laughing 
exercise, and visions and trances were frequent con- 
comitants of camp meetings in Kentucky and Ten- 
nessee during the great revival. These exercises were 
simply such variations of the foregoing as their names 
would naturally suggest." It is generally conceded 
by historians that the Baptists declined to join in 
general camp meetings, and were therefore but little 
affected by these strange phenomena. "In 1800, in 
Kentucky, the statistics compared with those of 1790 
show a falling off of 100 per cent in Baptist mem- 



64 Kentucky Baptist History— 1770-1922 

bership in proportion to increase in population, ' ' says 
Spencer. This was the ten years just prior to the 
great revival. The ten years just following the re- 
vival — 1800 to 1810 — show a great Baptist gain. 
Doctor Spencer says, "The revival of 1800 was one 
of the most wonderful events of modern times. It 
appeared more like the sudden conversion of a nation 
than the regeneration and reformation of indi- 
viduals." After telling of the marvelous manifesta- 
tions in the jerks, rolling, jumping, dancing, etc., 
Doctor Spencer says, "Doubtless there were many 
people truly converted," but he adds, "it is equally 
certain that great evil resulted. " This, of course, 
would be expected. Periods of great religious excite- 
ment are often prolific of much evil. 

According to Spencer Baptists took but little part 
in these camp meetings where there was wild excite- 
ment. In fact, he says "they joined in only one of 
these union meetings so far as is known." Again he 
says, "It is certain that the Baptists in Kentucky 
were generally exempt from the excesses of the great 
revival of 1800 that so sorely afflicted the Presby- 
terians. And instead of its resulting in discord, it 
healed the only schism there was among them." 
(Spencer, Vol. I, p. 536.) 

There were other good results. "The revival had 
an especially happy effect on the Baptists in dispos- 
ing them to make more effort to heal some unhappy 
divisions that existed among them, and in enlarging 
the spirit of missions. Hitherto their missionary 
operations had been confined to sending their min- 
isters to look after their destitute brethren in Ken- 
tucky and in the adjacent borders of Tennessee, 
Indiana, and Ohio. But in 1801, at the meeting of 
Elkhorn Association, which comprised one-third of 
the Baptists in the state, and probably more than 
two-thirds of their wealth and influence, a request 
came up from South Elkhorn Church 'to send mis- 
sionaries to the Indian nations ' " (Spencer, Vol. I, 
p. 543). As a result of this request a committee was 



The Great Revival of 1800 65 

appointed to take charge of the matter, and at least 
one missionary was sent out, for the records show 
that "John Young was approved by the committee 
and sent as a missionary to the Indians. ' ' 

In the account of this revival, given by Mr. Roose- 
velt ("The Winning of the West," Vol. VI, p. 175), 
after saying many of the so-called converts went back 
into utter unbelief and sinful practices worse than 
the ones they had given up, he adds, "Nevertheless, 
on the whole there was an immense gain for good. 
The people received a new light, and were given a 
sense of moral responsibility such as they had not 
previously possessed. Much of the work was done 
badly, or was afterwards undone, but very much was 
really accomplished. ' ' 

We are very much inclined to agree with Mr. 
Roosevelt at this point. While there were wild 
excesses and evil results, there was much good on the 
whole accomplished by this great revival. The 
spiritual interest and gain in membership in our 
churches indicate this. 



CHAPTER VI 

The Regular and Separate Baptists in Kentucky 
United— 1801 

Many of our people of the present time do not 
understand what is meant by "United Baptists," as 
the term long since has fallen into disuse. 

In the early history of Baptists in Kentucky they 
were divided into "Regular Baptists" and "Separate 
Baptists," which, as Doctor Spencer says, "was a 
distinction without a difference, ' ' very largely. These 
distinctions continued for some years, but effort after 
effort was made until a union was finally effected. 

I use here a part of an address by Dr. W. M. 
Pratt, and published in Jubilee Volume 1887 (p. 46). 

"The early Baptist churches in Kentucky had 
troubles within. 

"First. To secure unity between the two classes 
of Baptists — the Regulars and the Separates. 

"The Separate Baptists had their origin in New 
England about the middle of the last century as the 
result of the great revival under the ministry of 
Jonathan Edwards and George Whitfield. Those who 
withdrew from the 'Standing Order' (Congrega- 
tionalist) were called Separates or New Lights. 
Among their number was Shubal Stearns, who sub- 
sequently, on investigating the Scriptures, united with 
the Baptists and was baptized by Elder Wait Palmer 
at Tolland, Connecticut, and was ordained to the Bap- 
tist ministry by Elders Palmer and Moore. He felt 
impressed that his work in the ministry was to be 
outside of New England, as in 1754, together with 
his wife, sons, and his two brothers and their wives, 
his brother-in-law, David Marshall and wife, Joseph 
Breed and wife, Enos Steinson and wife, and Joseph 
Polk and wife, he left for the South, and located on 

66 



Regular and Separate Baptists United — 1801 67 

Sanday Creek, North Carolina, and immediately 
formed a church of these members of his household. 
David Marshall and Joseph R. Breed were appointed 
by the infant church to assist the pastor in his 
ministerial work. On his way to North Carolina he 
stopped for a short time in northeast Virginia and 
formed acquaintance with two churches in that region. 
The spirituality of the Christian religion was then 
untaught, and only in isolated instances was unknown 
in that region. The most wonderful effects resulted 
from the preaching of these men of God, and the 
spirituality of this little church on Sandy Creek, 
Guildford County, North Carolina, in the middle 
of the state, and about forty miles east of the Yadkin 
River, where Daniel Boone resided, at the time when 
he explored Kentucky. Doctor Cathcart says, 'The 
parent body in a few years had 606 members, and in 
seventeen years from its origin it had branches south- 
ward as far as Georgia, eastward to the sea and the 
Chesapeake Bay, and northward to the waters of the 
Potomac. It has become the mother, grandmother, 
and great-grandmother of forty-two churches, from 
which 125 ministers were sent out as licentiates or 
ordained clergymen. And in after years the power 
that God gave Shubal Stearns and his Sandy Creek 
Church in North Carolina with resistless force 
brought immense throngs to Christ and established 
multitudes of Baptist churches.' (Baptist Encyclo- 
pedia). Probably no one minister in America has 
exerted so extensive and permanent influence. George 
Whitfield was Calvinistic in his view, so was Shubal 
Stearns. A peculiar feature of his church was a 
refusal to formulate articles of faith. They merely 
had a written Church Covenant, and took the Bible 
alone as their rule of belief. He possessed the spirit 
and activity of the early Methodists, and communi- 
cated the same to his disciples. 

"The large majority of the earlier ministers of 
Kentucky were baptized by Separate Baptist minis- 
ters, imbibed the spirit and pursued the course of 



68 Kentucky Baptist History— 1770-1922 

Shubal Stearns, traveling to distant fields of evangeli- 
cal labor, organizing churches and becoming them- 
selves pioneers in church enterprise. The Philadel- 
phia Association was constituted 1707, and at one 
time comprehended nearly all the churches from New 
England to South Carolina. She was the originator 
of Baton's Academy at Hopewell, N. J., and Brown's 
University in Rhode Island, and her ministers were 
of considerable culture. She adopted and published 
her creed in 1742. (Printed by Benjamin Franklin, 
Philadelphia, 1743). This was the 'Confession of 
Faith' by Baptists in London and the country in 
1689. This mother of Baptist Associations in Amer- 
ica exerted a most conservative and wise influence 
over these newly formed churches in the South. She 
commissioned her wisest men to visit the settlements, 
and to give wholesome instruction to the churches and 
their ministers. The churches connected immediately 
with her body were called 'Regulars/ and those which 
arose from this new movement were termed 'Sepa- 
rates. ' As a result of this judicious course most of the 
early ministers who came to Kentucky and established 
churches adopted the ' Philadelphia Confession' as an 
exponent of their faith. The churches south of Ken- 
tucky River mostly organized on the original plat- 
form of Shubal Stearns, with simply a church cove- 
nant. The associations of the Regular Baptists, both 
in Virginia and Kentucky, made overtures to the Sep- 
arates for a union, which, after some delay, was con- 
summated in Virginia, August 10, 1787, and in Ken- 
tucky, partially in 1797, and fully in 1801, under the 
name of 'United Baptists,' adopting in both states 
the Philadelphia Confession of Faith, with certain 
'explanations.' Thus the Baptists of Virginia and 
Kentucky possess the two-fold elements of Calvinistic 
faith of the oldest association in America and the 
holy fervor and boundless zeal of the Separates — a 
most excellent combination. The two classes are so 
thoroughly wedded, that for years past not only party 
names dropped, but the word 'United' also, and 'Bap- 



Regular and Separate Baptists United — 1801 69 

tist ' alone remains to indicate our distinctive views. ' ' 
This shows that the union was effective. Benedict 
(page 812) in speaking of "The Regulars and Sepa- 
rates in Kentucky," says: ''These distinctions which 
we have described under the head of Virginia, the 
Carolinas, etc., began early to appear in this western 
region; the parties which maintained them, were 
lineal descendants of the same people in the east, and 
here again we find the successors of Stearns, Marshall, 
and other New England New Lights. 

"The Elkhorn and South Kentucky Associations 
embraced the substance of the two parties in the early 
movements of the Baptists in this new region, and by 
these bodies a reconciliation and union was effected 
similar to those which have been described in Vir- 
ginia and North Carolina. 

"The meeting for this purpose was held at 
Howard's Creek, N. H., in Clark County, in 1801. A. 
Dudley, J. Price, J. Redding, D. Barrow, and R. 
Elkin represented the Regulars; D. Ramey, Thomas 
J. Chilton, M. Bledsoe, S. Johnson the Separates." 

The Terms of Union: The terms of the union as 
given by Benedict (page 821) are: "We, the com- 
mittees of the Elkhorn and South Kentucky Asso- 
ciations, do agree to unite on the following plan : 

"1. That the scriptures of the Old and New Tes- 
tament are the infallible word of God, and the only 
rule of faith and practice. 

"2. That there is one only true God, and in the 
God-head or divine essence, there are Father, Son, 
and Holy Ghost. 

"3. That by nature we are fallen and depraved 
creatures. 

"4. That salvation, regeneration, sanctification, 
and justification, are by the life, death, resurrection, 
and ascension of Jesus Christ. 

1 ' 5. That the saints will finally persevere through 
grace to glory. 

"6. That believers' baptism, by immersion, is 
necessary to receiving the Lord's Supper. 



70 Kentucky Baptist History — 1770-1922 



n 



7. That the salvation of the righteous and pun- 
ishment of the wicked will be eternal. 

"8. That it is our duty to be tender and affec- 
tionate to each other, and study the happiness of the 
children of God in general; to be engaged singly to 
promote the honor of God. 

"9. And that the preaching Christ tasted death 
for every man, shall be no bar to communion. 

"10. And that each may keep up their associa- 
tional and church government as to them may seem 
best. 

"11. That a free correspondence and communion 
be kept up between the churches thus united. 

"Unanimously agreed to by the joint committee. 
Ambrose Dudley, Joseph Redding, Robert Elkin, 
John Price, David Barrow, Daniel Ramey, Thos. J. 
Chilton, Samuel Johnson, Moses Bledsoe.' ' 

Benedict says "This was the last body of the Sepa- 
rate Baptists which relinquishes the appellation by 
which they had been distinguished about fifty years. ' ' 
For a short time the term "United Baptists" was 
used, but it soon dropped out of use and our people 
were known simply as " Baptists/ ' until the split over 
the mission question, (about 1832), and then we were 
called "Missionary Baptists' ' to distinguish us from 
the Anti-missionary Baptists. However, as the Anti- 
missionary Baptists have about disappeared the term 
"Missionary" is not now necessary in connection with 
the name "Baptists" as we are now called. Our 
churches today are known simply as Baptist churches, 
which is quite sufficient, since other bodies using the 
name "Baptist" use some designating term as, "Free- 
will," "General," '/Old School," etc. Our denomi- 
nation is put down in history and in statistics simply 
"Baptists." 



CHAPTER VII 
The Emancipation Rupture — 1807 

Though the agitation of the emancipation of 
slaves began in 1789 in the meetings of Kentucky 
Baptists the rupture did not occur until 1807. "The 
first reference to the unlawfulness of slavery, found 
on the public records of Kentucky Baptists, is con- 
tained in the following queries, sent from Rolling 
Fork Church, in Nelson County, to Salem Association, 
convened at Cox's Creek Church in the same county, 
on the third of October, 1789: 'Is it lawful in the 
sight of God for a member of Christ's Church to keep 
his fellow creature in perpetual slavery?' The ques- 
tion was answered thus: 'The association judge it 
improper to enter into so important and critical mat- 
ter at present.' This answer gave no relief to the 
church. " ( ' ' History of Kentucky Baptists, ' ' Vol. I, 
p. 183.) 

The question of slavery, however, was already 
agitating our brethren in Virginia. Semple 's History 
of Virginia Baptists, Revised Edition, (p. 102), says: 
' l The next General Committee met at William 's meet- 
ing house, Goochland County, Friday, the seventh of 
March, 1778." The date here evidently should be 
1788, for the meeting just prior to this was 1787, and 
the one just following was August, 1788. It seems 
that the committee met oftener than once a year. 
Doctor Semple then adds as the third item of busi- 
ness, "Whether a petition should be offered to the 
General Assembly, praying that the yoke of slavery 
may be made more tolerable. Referred to the next 
session. ' ' It seems from the account of the next meet- 
ing, which was held at Dupuy's meeting house, Au- 
gust 11, 1788, the question of slavery was not taken 
up, but at the next meeting held in Richmond, Au- 

71 



72 Kentucky Baptist History — 1770-1922 

gust 8, 1789, the matter came up as follows, says Sem- 
ple (p. 105) : "The propriety of hereditary slavery 
was also taken up at this session, and after some time 
employed in the consideration of the subject the fol- 
lowing resolution was offered by Mr. Leland and 
adopted. (The Rev. John Leland-Nowlin). Resolved 
that slavery is a violent deprivation of the rights of 
nature and inconsistent with a republican govern- 
ment, and therefore recommend it to our brethren to 
make use of every legal measure to extirpate this 
horrid evil from the land; and pray Almighty God 
that our honorable Legislature may have it in their 
power to proclaim the great Jubilee, consistent with 
the principles of good policy.' ' Then on page 393 
Semple says: "In 1787, the lawfulness of hereditary 
slavery was debated in the association. They deter- 
mined that hereditary slavery was a breach of the 
divine law. They then appointed a committee to 
bring in a plan of gradual emancipation, which was 
accordingly done." 

Thus it will be seen that the early Baptists in Vir- 
ginia expressed opposition, in unmistakable terms, to 
slavery, as early as 1787. Our Kentucky associations 
were in correspondence with the Virginia associations, 
both by letter and messengers, and were therefore 
advised as to their actions. So it is no surprise to see 
the matter coming up two years later, than the above 
Virginia action, in a Kentucky association — the Sa- 
lem. Elkhorn Association, at its meeting in August, 
1791, says Spencer, (Vol. I, p. 184), "Appointed a 
committee of three to draw up a memorial to the con- 
vention to be held on the third day of April next, 
requesting them to take up the subject of Religious 
Liberty, and Perpetual Slavery in the formation of 
the constitution of this district, and report at the 
Crossing, on the eighth of September. Eastin, Gar- 
rard and Dudley were the committee. At the meeting 
at Great Crossings, in September of the same year, 
the l memorial on Religious Liberty and Perpetual 
Slavery was read and approved.' This action of the 



The Emancipation Rupture — 1807 73 

association did not meet the approval of the churches. 
Accordingly, the next association, which met at 
Bryants, in December of the same year, and which 
was probably convened, in extra session, for this 
express purpose, ' Resolved that the association dis- 
approve of the memorial which the last association 
agreed to send to the convention, on the subject of 
Religious Liberty and the Abolition of Slavery. ' ' ' 

After this, it seems that the question of slavery 
did not come up in the association for several years. 
But the preachers were preaching on the subject and 
it was being discussed in the churches. Emancipation 
parties were formed in many churches, which was a 
source of confusion and disturbance. The association 
finally had to act on the question of the emancipation 
of slaves. ' ' Elkhorn Association, during its session at 
Bryant's, in 1805, again took up the subject and 
passed a resolution, that, 'This association judges it 
improper for ministers, churches or associations to 
meddle with emancipation from slavery, or any other 
political subject, and as such, we advise ministers 
and churches to have nothing to do therewith. ' 

''This resolution gave great offense to the emanci- 
pators. They became much more active and deter- 
mined in their opposition to slavery. Even the earnest 
and laborious William Hickman was carried beyond 
the limits of prudence. On a fast day of that same 
year, he preached at Elkhorn Church, of which he 
was a member, and the pastor. His text was Isa. 
58:6: * Is not this the fast I have chosen ? to loose the 
bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and 
to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every 
yoke?" This sermon, says Theodrick Boulware, 'was 
disingenuous and offensive. The speaker declared 
non-fellowship for all slave holders. A few days 
afterwards he wrote a letter to the church, declaring 
his withdrawal.' Whether he went into the constitu- 
tion of an emancipation church, or not, does not 
appear. John Shackelford was called to the care of 
Forks of Elkhorn Church for one year. Before his 



74 Kentucky Baptist History — 1770-1922 

time was out Mr. Hickman returned and gave satis- 
faction to the church, and, when the year was out, 
resumed its pastorate. " (" History of Kentucky Bap- 
tists," Vol. I, p. 185). 

This gives us some conception of the disturbance 
in the Elkhorn Association caused by the question of 
emancipation. About this same time John Sutton led 
off a party from the Clear Creek Church, which 
united with a faction led out of Hillsboro Church by 
Carter Tarrant, and formed an emancipation church, 
called New Hope, located in Woodford County, "the 
first emancipation church in this part of the world," 
says John Taylor. ("History of Ten Churches," 
p. 81). 

The question of slavery caused a division in the 
North District Association in 1807. Spencer says, 
(Vol. II, 119 f) : "In 1804, Thomas J. Chilton, from 
a party of South District Association, which after- 
wards took the name of South Kentucky Association, 
presented to North District, charges against Jere- 
miah Vardeman and John Rice. As the party repre- 
sented by Mr. Chilton was not recognized by the asso- 
ciation, the charges were not entertained. But the 
next year, the same body entertained five charges 
against David Barrow, the ablest preacher in their 
body. These charges were presented by the messen- 
gers from Bracken Association, and pertained to Mr. 
Barrow's sentiments on the subject of slavery. The 
association, after hearing 1 him, in his own defense, 
decided that his explanations and apologies were suf- 
ficient. Some of the churches, however, were deter- 
mined to get rid of him; and new provisions were 
made for his expulsion. 'Providence and Boone's 
Creek Churches inquire how a church shall deal with 
a minister who propagates doctrines that are unsound 
or pernicious to peace and good order? The asso- 
ciation advises that a church, in such casses, withdraw 
all the power they gave such preacher; and (that) 
two preachers may suspend, or stop such preacher 
from preaching, until he can be tried by a council of 



The Emancipation Rupture — 1807 75 

five ministers, whose decision, in such case, ought to 
he obeyed, until reversed by the association. ' This 
rule, however, unbaptistic, was applied to Mr. Bar- 
row almost immeditely after the association ad- 
journed. At the next meeting of the body, in 1806, 
the following proceedings were entered on its min- 
utes: 

" 'A committee or council of five ministers re- 
ported : That, agreeable to provision made last asso- 
ciation, for the trial of ministers, they had been deal- 
ing with Brother David Barrow, for preaching the 
doctrine of emancipation, to the hurt and injury of 
the brotherhood. And the association, after consid- 
ering the foregoing report, and hearing what Brother 
Barrow had to say, in justification of his conduct, on 
that subject, and Brother Barrow manifesting no dis- 
position to alter his mode of preaching, as to the afore- 
said doctrine, they proceeded to expel him from his 
seat in this association, ' They also ' appointed a com- 
mittee to deal with Brother Barrow, in the church 
at Mount Sterling, at their next monthly meeting, 
and report to next association. ' 

"Immediately after Mr. Barrow's expulsion from 
North District Association, he commenced arranging 
for the constitution of an Emancipation Association. 
A meeting was called to convene at New Hope, in 
Woodford County, on the twenty-ninth of August, 
1807. Eleven preachers and nineteen other messen- 
gers were enrolled as members of the meeting. Pre- 
liminary steps were taken, for the organization of an 
association, which was constituted of nine churches, 
aggregating 190 members, the following September. 
This association, which took the name of Licking 
Locust, will be noticed in its appropriate place. 

"North District Association saw the injustice of 
her rash act when it was too late to counteract its evil 
effects. At her annual meeting, in 1807: 'The asso- 
ciation proceeded to annul and revoke the act of last 
association, in expelling Elder David Barrow from 
his seat in the association. But she had already lost 



76 Kentucky Baptist History— 1770-1922 

at least three churches and two preachers by the 
transaction; and they did not now choose to return. 
The subject of slavery continued to be agitated, in the 
bounds of the association, nearly twenty years. ' ' 

The foregoing shows that the agitation was long 
and bitter in this association. We are told by Spen- 
cer (Vol. I, p. 186) that "The excitement extended 
all over the settled portion of the state. Several 
churches in Bracken Association fell in with the 
emancipation scheme. Among these were Licking 
Locust, Lawrence Creek, Gilgal and Bracken. Among 
the churches that united in the movement from North 
District, were Mount Sterling and Bethel. These and 
a number of other churches effected an organization, 
in September, 1807, under the name of ' The Baptized 
Licking-Locust Association, Friends of Humanity.' 
At their next meeting they resolved 'that the present 
mode of associations, or confederation of churches, 
was unscriptural. ' They then proceeded to form 
themselves into an 'Abolition Society/ * * * In 
1816 they met at Lawrence Creek meeting house, in 
Mason County, under the name of ' The Association of 
Baptists, Friends of Humanity. ' The following 
churches were represented: Bracken, Gilgal, Law- 
rence Creek, Mount Sterling, Bullskin and Bethel. 
No account was received from New Hope in Wood- 
ford County. 

"The preaching was by Jacob Mahan, Moses Ed- 
wards and Alexander. The Lord's Supper 

was administered by David Barrow and Thomp- 
son. There is a manifest tendency to 'open com- 
munion' and other signs of decay, exhibited in the 
meager journal of their proceedings. The body kept 
up a feeble, withering existence till about the year 
1820, when it was dissolved." 

It seems from this time on the emancipation ques- 
tion gave the churches in Kentucky little or no trou- 
ble. We are unable to understand why the agitation 
died down, and the Emancipation Association dis- 
banded, unless the leaders came to realize that they 



The Emancipation Rupture — 1807 11 

were fighting a hopeless battle; and that their ener- 
gies could be more profitably spent along other lines. 
From the history we have of the emancipation 
movement it accomplished little, or no good, and a 
vast amount of harm. It disturbed Baptist churches 
and associations in Kentucky for a period of more 
than thirty years, and passed away, leaving no per- 
manent breach. 



CHAPTER VIII 

The Campbellian Split — 1830 

We have now reached an important point in Ken- 
tucky Baptist History — ' ' The Current Reformation. ' ' 
It is not the author's purpose in this chapter to 
deliver a blow at Campbellism, but to give a fair 
statement of an important chapter in Kentucky Bap- 
tist history. As will be seen from the following facts 
a definite separation has taken place between the Bap- 
tists and the Disciples by the close of 1830. 

Thomas Campbell left Scotland for the United 
States the eighth day of April, 1807, and Alexander 
Campbell, his son, together with the family, sailed for 
the United States September 28, 1808, ''but the vessel 
in which the family had embarked being shipwrecked 
off the Irish coast, the family returned to Europe and 
Alexander entered the University of Glasgow Novem- 
ber 8, the same year, and remained until the close of 
the university session the following May, 1809 ((pp. 
130 and 190). The following August, the same year, 
Alexander, together with the family, again started 
for the United States, and landed in New York Sep- 
tember 29, 1809, and shortly after reached Washing- 
ton, Pa., in time to read and approve the 'Declaration 
and Address,' as the constitution of the Christian 
Association was called, which was then issuing from 
the press. (Mem. A. C, Vol. I, pp. 195 and 205)." 
Taken from "Origin of Campbellism," page 15. 

Thus in 1809 we find Alexander Campbell in the 
United States. It is not the author's purpose to fol- 
low Mr. Campbell in founding and developing a new 
sect, but to notice his life and labors as they touch and 
affect the history of Kentucky Baptists. Mr. Camp- 
bell began preaching in Kentucky as early as 1823, 
and by 1830 there was a definite separation between 

78 



The Campbellian Split—1830 79 

the Baptists and the Disciples, as they called them- 
selves. The labors of Mr. Campbell were begun in 
Kentucky as a Baptist, and in Baptist churches. In 
this way Mr. Campbell ingratiated himself into the 
favor of the Baptists before they learned that he hajl 
been called to re-establish ''the ancient order of 
things." Spencer in his "History of Kentucky Bap- 
tists" (Vol. I, p. 581) on "The Rise of Campbellism" 
says: 

"The Baptist denomination in Kentucky was 
probably never more prosperous than in the year 
1820. The churches and associations were enjoying 
great peace, if we except a slight interruption of the 
correspondence between Licking and Elkhorn Asso- 
ciations, and the existence of the South Kentucky and 
Nolynn Associations of Separate Baptists, which did 
not correspond with the other associations in the state. 
The spirit of missions had been greatly revived and 
the churches were contributing more liberally to for- 
eign missions than those of any other portion of the 
United States. They had at this period a corps of 
ministers who, in all the elements of success, ranked 
favorably with any on the continent. Wm. C. War- 
field, Wm. Warder, Isaac Hodgin, Jeremiah Varde- 
man, George Waller, Silas M. Noel, Walter Warder 
and Wm. Vaughan, all brought into the ministry on 
the soil of Kentucky, were men of eminent ability, 
piety and usefulness. Besides these, there were many 
preachers of less note, who were eminent for piety, 
zeal and usefulness. With these advantages, and with 
a membership exceeding in numbers that of all other 
denominations combined, their prospects for the fu- 
ture were peculiarly hopeful. 

"The general revival that was just closing had 
produced no schisms or discords. Yet the enemy had 
sown tares among the wheat that were destined to 
yield an abundant harvest. Some bad leaven had 
been introduced, which was destined to work disas- 
trous consequences. The opposition to missions, theo- 
logical schools, and, indeed, all benevolent societies, 



80 Kentucky Baptist History— 1770-1922 

had already exhibited itself. Taylor, Parker and 
some others had taken the alarm, and sounded the 
tocsin of war. Suspicion was excited among the 
churches, and the spirit of missions began to subside, 
especially among the illiterate and uninformed. While 
avarice was not by any means, the primal cause of 
opposition to missions and other benevolent enter- 
prises, it doubtless added strength to it. Taylor was 
not persistent in his opposition ; Parker, Nuckols and 
others were. But soon there arose another opponent 
to benevolent enterprises, whose brilliancy eclipsed 
all other lights, and whose influence among the Bap- 
tists of Kentucky was destined to exert greater evil 
among them than that of any other man of his gen- 
eration. This was Alexander Campbell, then and 
during the remainder of his life, a resident of Brook 
County, Virginia. For a time, after he commenced 
his career as editor of a popular religious periodical, 
he gave his influence principally to opposing missions, 
Bible and Tract Societies, and Theological Schools, 
and to curtailing the influence and pecuniary support 
of Christian ministers, whom he styled 'the kingdom 
of the clergy, ' and to bringing into discredit the doc- 
trines and practices of the principal religious sects 
of the country.' ' 

In August, 1823, Mr. Campbell began the publica- 
tion of a monthly paper which he called The Chris- 
tian Baptist, and in October of the same year he 
debated with W. L. McCalla, Presbyterian, at Wash- 
ington, Mason County, Kentucky, on baptism. But to 
understand the "Current Reformation" in Kentucky 
we must take up the life and labors of Barton W. 
Stone, and to understand Stone 's movements we must 
take some notice of the great revival. From the Me- 
moirs of Wm. Vaughan (121 ff ) we get the following 
informing account of Barton Stone's movement. 

"In the year 1796 a very eloquent Presbyterian 
preacher by the name of McGready immigrated to 
Logan County, Kentucky, and was settled as pastor 
over two churches known as Red and Muddy River. 



The Campbellian Split— 1830 81 

These churches were in a cold back-slidden condition, 
and of this he writes with sadness. We quote his 
own words: 

" 'Our infant congregations remained in a state 
of deadness and darkness from the fall, through the 
winter and until the month of July, 1799. On Mon- 
day the power of God seemed to fill the congregation. 
The boldest, daring sinners in the county covered 
their faces and wept bitterly. After the congregation 
was dismissed, a large number of people remained 
about the doors, unwilling to go away. Some of the 
ministers proposed to me to collect the people in the 
meeting house again and perform prayer with them. 
The mighty power of God came among us like a 
shower from the everlasting hills. God's people were 
quickened and comforted; sinners were powerfully 
alarmed, and some precious souls were brought to feel 
the pardoning love of Jesus. Gasper River, the fol- 
lowing August, was the scene of a deep religious 
interest. After the sermon the pastor gave a solemn 
exhortation. The people for some time kept their 
seats, while a deep solemnity prevailed throughout 
the congregation. Some cried out aloud and many 
fell on the ground and laid there, groaning, praying 
and crying for mercy. Not long after this a deep 
religious interest was awakened along the banks of 
the Ohio." Further Mr. Vaughan says: " 'In July/ 
says Mr. McGready, 'multitudes crowded from all 
parts of the country, to see a strange work from the 
distance of forty, fifty and even a hundred miles. 
Whole families came in their wagons ; between twenty 
and thirty wagons were brought to the place, loaded 
with people and their provisions, in order to encamp 
at the meeting house. Of many instances I shall men- 
tion one of a little girl. I stood by her while she lay 
across her mother 's lap, almost in despair. I was con- 
versing with her when the first gleam of light broke in 
upon her mind. She started to her feet, and in an 
ecstasy of joy she cried out: " 'Oh, what a sweet 
Christ he is!" etc. Then turning around she ad- 

9 



82 Kentucky Baptist History— 1770-1922 

dressed sinners and told them of the glory and will- 
ingness and preciousness of Christ, and pleaded with 
them to repent.' 

"This was the first camp -meeting. The excitement 
continued and the Methodists, always more or less 
enthusiastic, joined in and fanned the flame. It ran 
from settlement to settlement until the whole coun- 
try was in a blaze. The people were amazed; vice 
hid her head and infidelity hushed its babbling mouth. 
"This religious excitement was communicated to 
Northern Kentucky in the following manner ; Barton 
W. Stone, who was pastor of two Presbyterian con- 
gregations, in Bourbon county, and which, like many 
other churches in the state, were in a condition of 
great coldness and deadness, hearing of the revival in 
Southern Kentucky and in Tennessee, under the 
labors of James McGready and other Presbyterian 
ministers, was very anxious to be among them, and 
early in the spring of 1801, he went there to attend 
a camp-meeting. He will give, in his own language, 
a description of the scene : 

" 'The scene to me was passing strange. It baf- 
fled description. Many, very many, fell down as men 
slain in battle, and continued for hours together in 
an apparently breathless and motionless state; some- 
times, for a few moments, recovering and exhibiting 
symptoms of life by a groan or a piercing shriek or 
by a prayer for mercy, most fervently uttered. After 
lying thus for hours, they obtained deliverance. I 
observed with critical attention every thing that 
passed. After attending to many such cases, my con- 
viction was complete that it was a good work — the 
work of God — nor has my mind wavered since on the 
subject.' 

"Stone returned to Cane Ridge, in Bourbon, carry- 
ing with him the intelligence of the wonderful revival 
in Logan County. The work commenced there imme- 
diately. He preached in the morning and a deep 
solemnity prevailed. At night two little girls were 
affected in a way precisely similar to those in Logan 



The Campbellicm Split— 1830 83 

County, and the next morning, as Mr. Stone returned 
to Cane Ridge, he was met by a prominent citizen, 
shouting praise to God. He says: 'In less than 
twenty minutes scores had fallen to the ground ; pale- 
ness, trembling and anxiety appeared on all. They 
continued on the spot till late in the night, and many 
found peace in the Lord. ' The effects of this meeting 
were electric. Men, women and children were in a 
perfect fever with excitement, the like of which was 
never known before. Following the example of the 
people in Southern Kentucky, it was resolved to hold 
a camp-meeting at Cane Ridge, and thus facilitate the 
good work already begun. This meeting was noted 
for the numbers that attended it, and the wild scenes 
that were then enacted. Hear Mr. Stone again : 

1 ' ' This memorable meeting came on Thursday and 
Friday before the third Lord's day in August, 1801. 
The roads were literally crowded with wagons, car- 
riages, horsemen and footmen, moving to the solemn 
camp. The sight was affecting. It was judged by 
military men on the ground that there were between 
twenty and thirty thousand collected. Four or five 
preachers were frequently speaking at the same time 
at different parts of the encampment, without confu- 
sion.' " Continuing Mr. Vaughan says (p. 128) : 

"From this there was a division among the Pres- 
byterians. Those who were opposed to the extrava- 
gancies of the revivalists formed one party, and those 
in favor of them the other. The differences between 
these two parties were sharp and well-defined. The 
excitement ran high. Crimination and recrimination 
were the order of the day. Those who headed the 
revival movement were Barton W. Stone, Robert Mar- 
shall, John Thompson, Richard McNemar and John 
Dunlevy. They abandoned the old land-marks as set 
forth in their confession of faith, and their funda- 
mental doctrines were 'Rational belief and war to the 
death on all creeds, systems, and confessions of faith. ' 
McNemar, one of their leaders, has thus written: 
'They adopted a very different faith, and taught as 



84 Kentucky Baptist History — 1770-1922 

an important truth that the will of God was made 
manifest to each individual who humbly sought after 
it, by an inward light shone into the heart/ They 
were therefore called 'New Lights/ 

" Barton W. Stone, the acknowledged leader of 
this party, renounced the doctrines of Calvinism and 
proclaimed on every side that Christ died for all 
men, and that all can be saved on the same terms. 
He and his party also urged that men had the same 
ability to believe as to disbelieve in Christ. These 
and other doctrines which they held and proclaimed 
were in direct opposition to the Confession of Faith; 
but they had become so popular that the church 
courts for awhile were afraid to deal with them. But 
at length Richard McNemar was summoned before 
the Springfield Presbytery, so called because it met 
in Springfield, Ohio, and the following specifications 
of heresy were preferred against him: 

" '1. He reprobated the idea of sinners attempt- 
ing to pray, or being exhorted thereto, before they 
were believers in Christ. 

' ' ' 2. He has condemned those who urge that con- 
victions are necessary, or that prayer is proper in 
the sinner. 

" '3. He has expressly declared at several times 
that Christ has purchased salvation for all the human 
race without distinction. 

" *4. He has expressly declared that the sinner 
has power to believe Christ at any time. 

" '5. That the sinner has as much power to act 
faith as to act unbelief; and reprobated every idea 
in contradiction thereto, held by persons of a con- 
trary opinion. 

" '6. He has expressly said that faith consisted 
in the creature's persuading himself assuredly that 
Christ died for him in particular ; that doubting and 
examining into evidences of faith were inconsistent 
with and contrary to the nature of faith; and in 
order to establish these sentiments, he explained 
away these words: 'Faith is the gift of God/ by 



The Campbellian Split— 1830 85 

saying that Jesus Christ is the object of faith there 
meant, and not faith itself, and also these words: 
'No man cometh to me except the Father who sent 
me draw him,' by saying that the drawing there 
meant was Christ offered in the gospel, and that the 
Father knew no other drawing, or higher power than 
holding up his Son in the gospel.' 

"Mr. McNemar acknowledged that he held these 
doctrines, except the first part of the sixth article. 
The above charges will give the reader an idea of 
the peculiar views at that time held by the 'New 
Lights'! 

"From the Springfield Presbytery, the case was 
brought before the Synod at Lexington, Kentucky, 
in the fall of 1803, Stone and his party seeing that 
the decision of the Presbytery in regard to McNemar 
would be sustained, met in council, drew up a formal 
protest, presented it to the Synod, and then withdrew 
from the authority of that body. After a fruitless 
effort to bring these men back into the fold, they 
solemnly suspended Barton W. Stone, Richard McNe- 
mar, Robert Marshall, John Thompson and John 
Dunlevy, and declared their pulpits vacant. These 
men formed themselves into what they called the 
'Springfield Presbytery.' 'From this period,' says 
Stone, 'I date the commencement of that reformation 
which has progressed to this day.' He wrote this 
in 1843. 

"Shortly after their suspension they were joined 
by two other ministers, Mathew Houston and David 
Purviance. In June, 1804, they issued a document 
styled, ' The last will and testament of the Springfield 
Presbytery,' in which they set forth a synopsis of 
their doctrines, and forever dissolved the Presbytery. 
They threw away all creeds and adopted the simple 
name Christian, by which they wished to be desig- 
nated. They urged all Christians to follow their 
example, to emancipate themselves from all confes- 
sions of faith and unite with them on the Bible. They 
were progressive. When first started they believed 



86 Kentucky Baptist History— 1770-1922 

in infant baptism, and that sprinkling was the proper 
act of baptism. After this they rejected the doctrine 
of infant baptism and proclaimed immersion as the 
only mode. And following quick upon this they pro- 
mulgated the dogma of baptism for the remission of 
sins. 

"When they united with the reformation in 1830 
their number is not known, but in 1812, according 
to Doctor Benedict, they numbered 40 churches, 40 
ministers and about 5000 members. 

"Mr. Stone and his followers held many views in 
common with Mr. Campbell; in fact they were sub- 
stantially the same, and consequently he and his ad- 
herents had no great difficulty in effecting with them 
a fundamental union. Although they originated long 
before Mr. Campbell developed his views, yet the sub- 
stance of the Campbellite theory was in their doc- 
trines, and the commencement of this sect may well 
be called the rise of the Current Reformation. ' ' 

Thus it will be observed that Mr. Stone was con- 
siderably in advance of Mr. Campbell in his "Refor- 
mation" — Stone dating from 1803, while Campbell 
joined the Baptists in 1812, and was excluded from 
Baptist fellowship 1829. 

The starting of the Christian Baptist gave Mr. 
Campbell a great opportunity. Quoting again from 
Memoirs of Wm. Vaughan (pp. 161, 162, 163) ■: 

"Campbellism now began to assume a definite 
form. All over Northern and Central Kentucky Mr. 
Campbell had his adherents, and they read, as de- 
voutly as Moslem ever read his Koran, the Christian 
Baptist. Week after week it paid its welcome visits, 
bringing light and comfort and joy. Mr. Campbell's 
interpretations of scripture were regarded as infall- 
ible, and they were relied upon with implicit confi- 
dence. They had learned a new speech, no longer 
speaking the language of Ashdod. They were right, 
and that they knew full well, for they went by the 
'book.' Half-grown boys and girls were thoroughly 
imbued with the spirit of the Great Reformer, and 



The Campbellian Split— 1830 87 

were ready at all times to discuss with you the pecu- 
liar doctrines of the ancient gospel. The veil was 
lifted, and they could explain anything in the 
Bible 

"The friends of Mr. Campbell were very busy in 
the dissemination of their principles. From the great 
leader at Bethany to the boy of fifteen summers there 
was unceasing activity. Every one of them was full 
of light and knowledge, and their hearts burned 
within them to communicate their doctrines to others. 
Whenever an opportunity presented itself, either in 
public or in private, they were discussing the topics 
suggested and developed in the Christian Baptist. 
They were as strong as Samson, who slew a thou- 
sand Philistines with the jaw-bone of an ass; they 
felt that one could chase a thousand and two could 
put ten thousand to flight. 

" Their numbers increased, and some were found 
in almost every Baptist Church in the state, at least 
in Northern and Central Kentucky. The turbulent 
and disaffected were drawn into their ranks, also 
many amiable and excellent people, who had not 
given the subject a thorough investigation, or who, 
from the ambiguity of Mr. Campbell's position, were 
unable to distinguish between truth and error. Camp- 
bellism raged like an epidemic in many parts of the 
country. The people were wild. There was strife 
and discord in the churches. Bitter feelings were 
engendered and hostile parties were arrayed one 
against the other. The humble, pious, peace-loving 
members mourned over the desolations of Zion, and 
by the rivers of Babylon they sat down and wept. 
Such men as Walter Warder, William Warder, Silas 
M. Noel, John Taylor and John S. Wilson saw the 
evils that beset our churches, but they wept and lab- 
ored on. They saw the storm that was gathering — 
they felt that the danger was imminent — but they 
hardly knew what to do. They did not see how they 
could beat back the tide that seemed to be sweeping 
all before it. They appeared to ,be paralyzed, and 



88 Kentucky Baptist History— 1770-1922 

especially was this the case with Walter Warder and 
Jeremiah Vardeman. They thought it would be more 
prudent to modify and direct the course of the Refor- 
mation than to give it a direct and decided opposi- 
tion 

"They prayed for the peace of Jerusalem and for 
a season of refreshing from on high. They had waited 
long for a blessing, and at length God heard their 
prayer and the revival began. In the fall of 1827 
the good work commenced. Ministers preached with 
unusual fervency and power and the people listened 
with deep interest, and large congregations assembled 
everywhere to hear the gospel. In the following win- 
ter and spring there were large additions to the 
churches. The brethren were so much absorbed in 
the revival, so overjoyed on account of the success 
of the gospel, that the Campbellite controversy was 
forgotten for a season. All over the state there was 
a glorious work of grace — such a revival as had not 
been witnessed since the great awakening of 1803. 
The Reformers who were still in the Baptist churches 
labored hard to bring over the young converts to 
their peculiar views. Shortly after their conversion, 
and while their hearts were warm and tender and 
easy impressed, they used every effort to instill their 
notions into their young minds. The older ministers 
were unsuspecting and off their guard, and before 
they were aware of it many had embraced the doc- 
trine of Mr. Campbell. While the Presbyterians were 
the sufferers in the revival of 1803, the Baptists were 
the especial sufferers in the revival of 1827-28.' ' In 
the life of T. J. Fisher, (p. 56) by Spencer is this 
statement: "The germ of what is now known as 
Campbellism was published in a series of letters, 
addressed by Robert Sandeman, of Perth, Scotland, 
to Mr. Hervey, about A. D. 1757. He claimed that 
' justifying faith' is 'the bare belief of the bare truth'. 
His system is known in England as ' Sandemanian- 
ism'. In his writings he was exceedingly bitter 
against all opposing doctrines, and particularly bit- 



The Campbellian Split— 1830 89 

ter and sarcastic in writing against the ministers of 
the Kirk of Scotland. He spent the last seven years 
of his life in New England, where, after organizing 
a few small societies, he died, at Danbury, Connecti- 
cut, A. D. 1771. His doctrines seemed to die with 
him. But near A. D. 1800, Barton W. Stone (and 
others) began, in a confused manner, to hold forth 
the doctrine of Sandemanianism ; but, being unsuited 
for the work of a reformer, he made little progress, 
until Mr. Campbell, in his rapid changes from Hyper- 
calvinism to the extreme of modern Arminianism, 
embraced Mr. Stone's doctrine, and added to it the 
doctrine that 'baptism is essential to salvation.' " 

The heart of Campbellism is given in the follow- 
ing quotations. Dr. J. B. Jeter in his " Campbellism 
Examined and Re-examined" (p. 193), quotes from 
Campbell's "Christian System" (p. 233), the follow- 
which is the very heart of Campbellism : 

" 'There are three births, three kingdoms, and 
three salvations. One from the womb of our first 
mother, one from the water, and one from the grave. 
We enter a new world on, and not before each birth. 
The present animal life, at the first birth; the spir- 
itual, or the life of God in our souls, at the second 
birth ; and the life eternal in the presence of God, at 
the third birth. And he who dreams of entering the 
second kingdom, or coming under the dominion of 
Jesus without the second birth, may, to complete his 
error, dream of entering the kingdom of glory with- 
out a resurrection from the dead.' " 

Then again (page 196) Dr. Jeter quotes from 
"Christian System" as follows: " 'Whatever the 
act of faith may be, it necessarily becomes the line 
of discrimination between the two states before de- 
scribed. On this side, and on that mankind are in 
quite different states. On the one side, they are 
pardoned, justified, sanctified, reconciled, adopted, 
and saved; on the other, they are in a state of con- 
demnation. This act is sometimes called immersion, 
regeneration, conversion,' 'Christian System," p. 193. 



90 Kentucky Baptist History— 1770-1922 

'These expressions/ (immersed, converted, regener- 
ated), 'in the apostle's style, denote the same act,' 
p. 203. 'For if immersion be equivalent to regenera- 
tion, and regeneration be of the same import with 
being born again, then being born again and being 
immersed, are the same thing.' p. 200." Also page 
194, ' ' Campbellism Examined and Re-examined" 
quoting "Christian System" p. 202. "The Holy 
Spirit calls nothing personal regeneration except the 
act of immersion. ' ' 

It will be seen that Mr. Campbell in these state- 
ments does not teach baptismal regeneration. That 
is, he does not teach that regeneration takes place in 
connection with the act of baptism, but that baptism 
is itself regeneration. There can be no mistaking his 
language here. So baptism is not the condition, nor 
a condition of regeneration, but is itself regeneration, 
and the Holy Spirit calls nothing else regeneration. 
That's simon pure Campbellism — "Be dipped or be 
damned. ' ' 

The separation between the Baptists and the "Re- 
formers" in Baptist Churches now began. The best 
account we have found of this separation is given 
in the Memoirs of Wm. Vaughn (page 170 if) as 
follows : 

"Alexander Campbell, when he withdrew from 
the Redstone Association, united with the Mahoning 
Association, of Ohio. Through his influence that body 
became thoroughly imbued with the doctrines of the 
Reformation, and on that account the Beaver Asso- 
ciation, of Pennsylvania, in August, 1829, withdrew 
from her all fellowship on the ground that she had 
departed from the fundamental principles of the gos- 
pel. A copy of these resolutions was sent to Rev. Silas 
M. Noel, D. D., of Frankfort, Kentucky, and the 
church at that place immediately sent up a request to 
the Franklin Association, which was about to assem- 
ble at the Forks of Elkhorn meeting-house, in Wood- 
ford county, that the charges of Beaver against the 
Reformers should be indorsed and published by the 



The Campbellian Split— 1830 91 

association. Franklin, after due consideration, not 
only complied with the request, but advised all the 
churches in her connection to follow the course pur- 
sued by the Beaver Association and discountenance 
the errors of Campbellism. These errors and corrup- 
tions were set forth in the following terms : 

" '1. They, the Keformers, maintain that there is 
no promise of salvation without baptism. 

" '2. That baptism should be administered to all 
who say that they believe that Jesus is the Son of God, 
without examination on any other point. 

" '3. That there is no direct operation of the 
Holy Spirit on the mind prior to baptism. 

" '4. That baptism procures the remission of 
sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit. 

" '5. That the Scriptures are the only evidence 
of interest in Christ. 

" '6. That obedience places it in God's power to 
elect to salvation. 

" t l. That no creed is necessary for the church 
but the Scriptures as they stand ; and, 

" *8. That all baptized persons have the right to 
administer the ordinance of baptism. ' ' ' 

" These resolutions were sent to the South Benson 
Church, Franklin County, Kentucky, where there 
was a considerable party in favor of Mr. Campbell, 
and after a lengthy discussion between George Wal- 
ler on the one side and Jacob Creath, Sr., on the other, 
they were spread upon the records of the church. The 
minority was so much incensed by this action that 
they met and, with the assistance of Jacob Creath, Sr., 
and his nephew, Jacob Creath, Jr., constituted them- 
selves into another church. The majority, regarding 
this matter as schismatic, at their regular meeting in 
February, 1830, unanimously excluded them from the 
Baptist Church at South Benson. 

■ ' The work of separation had begun in earnest. A 
called meeting of the North District Association was 
held at Lulbegrud, Montgomery County, and Thomas 
Boone was chosen moderator. A committee was ap- 



92 Kentucky Baptist History— 1770-1922 

pointed to examine the records, correspondence, 
decisions and reports of the North District Associa- 
tion from the day of its constitution, in 1802, to its 
last session at Unity in 1829, and to report such 
results as they might deem to be of interest to the 
council. In due time the committee made the re- 
quired examination and reported in substance as 
follows : 

" l l. That the constitution of the North District 
Association makes it the duty of the association to 
have a watch care over the churches and gives it the 
right to withdraw from such as act disorderly. 

" '2. That the association exercised this watch 
care over both churches and preachers until their 
session at Cane Spring, in 1827. 

" '3. They find that at that association, Lulbe- 
grud complained of a new mode of breaking the bread 
when administering and receiving the Lord 's Supper ; 
but the association neglected to notice the conduct of 
such churches. 

" '4. They find also that in the year of 1829, 
Goshen complains to the association of new forms of 
words adopted and used in the administration of bap- 
tism, etc. ; and yet, though the church requested it, 
no attention was paid to the request. 

" '5. They find also that Cane Spring com- 
plained to the association, in the same year, and no 
attention was paid to her complaint. 

" '6. In 1829, Lulbegrud again complains that in 
consequence of changes taking place among the 
churches, respecting the administering and receiving 
of the Lord's Supper and other matters, she should 
not commune; and yet no attention was paid to her 
complaint. ' 

''This meeting then adjourned to meet at Goshen 
on the fourth Saturday in June following. Elder 
David Chenault was elected moderator and James 
French, clerk. The following questions were then 
raised and promptly answered. 

" *1. Has North District, by abandoning the 



The Campbellian Split— 1830 93 

supervisorship of the churches and preachers, de- 
parted from its constitution ? Answered in the affirm- 
ative. 

" '2. Has a church, that takes upon itself the 
right to introduce and practice usages, unknown 
among the churches of Elkhorn and South Kentucky 
Associations at the time of their union, departed from 
the constitution and gone out of the union ? Answered 
in the affirmative. 

" 'Our reasons,' said they, 'for deciding that 
North District Association has departed from its con- 
stitution are contained in the proceedings of the meet- 
ing at Lulbegrud in April last. In point of doctrine 
these departures from what was believed in the 
churches of either Elkhorn or South Kentucky Asso- 
ciation, at the time of their union, are so entire that 
to attempt an illustration throughout would be too 
long and tedious a writing. They even deny the 
special operation of the Spirit in quickening the dead 
sinner. And by way of ridicule they ask: "Where 
did the Spirit hit you? Was it on the shoulder or 
under the fifth rib?" 

" 'As to departures from church usage, they are 
so general that if any one thing in church customs, as 
practiced in the churches of Elkhorn and South Ken- 
tucky Associations, at the time of their union, remains 
unchanged, we know not what it is. Constituting 
churches, ordaining preachers, eating the Lord 's Sup- 
per, words of baptism, the action of putting under 
the water in baptism — all are varied. Can it be 
thought strange that these innovations, all beating on 
the churches at once, should produce distress, con- 
fusion and schisms.' 

"We have not the space to give all these proceed- 
ings at length, but before they adjourned, by resolu- 
tion they declared themselves withdrawn from all 
churches that had departed, as before alleged; but 
that their fellowship was not to be considered broken 
with their ministers or individual members who were 
content with the former usages of the churches. 



94 Kentucky Baptist History — 1770-1922 

''The course pursued by the North District Asso- 
ciation was soon followed by other associations. 
Franklin took decided ground against the innovations 
of the Reformers. Mr. Noel presented a circular let- 
ter, from which we make the following extract : 

" 'As an association we shall deem it our duty to 
drop correspondence with any and every association 
or church where this heresy is tolerated. Those who 
say they are not Campbellites, and yet countenance 
and circulate his little pamphlets, are insincere — they 
are to be avoided. When they say they are perse- 
cuted because they "will not swallow the Philadel- 
phia Confession of Faith," you are not to believe it, 
for no church has called one of them in question on 
that point, so far as we know. It is not so much their 
objection to this book as our objection to their con- 
fession of faith that makes the difference.' 

"This letter was adopted by the association and 
ordered to be printed and circulated among the 
churches of that body. 

"Elkhorn next snowed herself true to 'the faith 
once delivered unto the saints.' She met on the sec- 
ond Saturday in August, 1830, with the church at 
Silas, Bourbon County, and, after much violent oppo- 
sition on the part of the Campbellites, adopted the 
following resolutions: 

" '1. That the church at Versailles be dropped 
from further correspondence with this association, for 
non-conformity to the rules, and for receiving into 
her membership a preacher, Jacob Creath, Jr., who in 
faith and practice departed from her constitution, 
and who has taken part in constituting minorities who 
also have thus departed.' 

"North District Association had split in twain, 
and each party was present with letters and messen- 
gers, and each one claiming to be the legitimate body. 
John Smith represented the Campbellites, and Reu- 
ben McDonald and others the Orthodox party. 

"The question now arose: 'Which body of Bap- 
tists shall be recognized by Elkhorn as the North Dis- 



The Campbellian Split— 1830 95 

trict Association ? ' Smith fought hard for a seat, but 
the association adopted the following resolutions : 

" ' Whereas, it appears that two communications 
from North District have been sent to this association, 
showing that a split has taken place in that body ; 

" 'Resolved, Therefore, that the ten churches, 
which met in council at Goshen meeting house, on the 
fourth Saturday in June, 1830, and in their minutes 
declare that the rest of the churches have departed 
from her constitution in faith and practice, be reeog- 
nized as the North District Association, and that our 
correspondence be continued with them as heretofore. ' 

"Then followed the meeting of the Tate's Creek 
Association, which occurred on the fourth Saturday 
in August, 1830. The messengers composing this 
body unanimously resolved to withdraw all fellow- 
ship from every church and association that favored 
the Campbellite heresy. 

"Within the Bracken Association matters had 
come to a crisis. May's Lick Church was in confu- 
sion. The members of this body who adhered to the 
grand old doctrines of the gospel determined that 
they would withdraw from the adherents of Mr. 
Campbell. They accordingly drew up and published 
the following resolution and protest, and thus com- 
pelled every one to show his colors : 

" 'Our church being in a state of painful confu- 
sion, resulting from attempts by Alexander Campbell 
and others to produce a reformation in society, as 
they have been in the habit of calling it — among other 
things denying the direct influence of the Spirit until 
after baptism, contending that persons professing 
faith in Christ shall be baptized, for the purpose of 
actually receiving forgiveness of sins — denying and 
rather, ridiculing what we call Christian experience, 
in part at least, namely, a burdened heart on account 
of sin, and sensible manifestation of God's pardoning 
mercy by faith in the blood of Christ : Slandering the 
Baptist society by saying that they are in Babylon — 
against which sentiments, and many others referred 



96 Kentucky Baptist History— 1770-1922 

to by them, we solemnly protest ; also against the con- 
duct of the Campbells, Creaths, Smiths and others, 
who, in May, undertook to administer the Supper in 
our meeting house — a number of our brethren joining 
in that thing without the authority of the church — 
some, likely, without thinking of the wounds they 
were bringing on their brethren. Our brethren, a 
number of them, also, have been encouraging preachers 
to occupy our meeting house that many of us believe 
to be Arians, knowing they were trampling on our 
feelings, which we conceive to be contrary to good 
order. We have made every effort to place them and 
us on ground that we can live in some degree of 
peace, but in vain ; and we are now compelled to adopt 
the following resolution : 

" 'That all of us whose names are hereunto sub- 
scribed, protesting as above named against the Refor- 
mation (falsely so called), are willing and determined 
to rally around the original constitution and covenant 
of the church, which has never been disannulled — asso- 
ciating them with the principles of the union between 
the Regular and Separate Baptists — which were 
adopted by the Elkhorn Association when this church 
was a member of that body, and according to which 
we have acted ever since, which is a fact as relates to 
Baptists generally, thereby occupying precisely the 
same ground we did before the confused and confus- 
ing system of things that has destroyed our peace and 
the peace of many other churches among us, and that 
no person shall be considered a member of this church 
who will refuse to acknowledge the above by subscrib- 
ing their names, or causing them to be subscribed, or 
who will encourage the above-named Reformers.' " 

Thus the split occurred in the May 's Lick Church ; 
and Bethel, within the same association, also divided. 
The Bracken Association met in Washington, Mason 
County, on the first Saturday in September, 1830. 
This was one of great interest to both parties. The 
Reformers had been so active and busy that to a 
casual observer they seemed to be greatly in the ma- 



The Campbellian Split— 1830 97 

jority. They were very anxious to remain in the 
denomination and control it. The period had now 
arrived when their comparative strength could be 
tested in the Bracken Association. When the ballots 
for moderator were counted Mr. Vaughan was 
declared elected. This was a test vote. And showed 
that the strength of the denomination still adhered to 
the ancient landmarks. 

"Each party in the May's Lick Church presented 
a letter, each claiming to be the church; and so did 
the two parties of the Bethel Church. In regard to 
them the association made the following decision : 

" '1. The church at May's Lick having divided, 
and each party presenting letters to the Association, 
claiming to be the original church; 

" 'Resolved, That the majority be recognized as 
such; the minority having embraced a system of 
things called Reformation, thereby departing from 
the principles of the United Baptists in Kentucky 
and of the Association. 

" '2. Two letters also having been received from 
the church at Bethel, both claiming to be the original 
church, and it appearing to the satisfaction of the 
association that the majority of the church have de- 
parted from the original principles of the United 
Baptists and of this association; 

" 'Resolved, Therefore, that the minority be rec- 
ognized as the church.' " 

The above is a very vivid account of the struggle 
through which our brethren passed in freeing the 
churches from Campbellism. 

In one case it is the majority that is right and in 
the other it is the minority. In his history of Frank- 
lin Association, Spencer says, "In 1830, the Camp- 
bellite schism was consummated in this and all the 
surrounding fraternities" (Vol. II, p. 291). This 
fixes the date of the Campbellian split. 

"Raccoon" John Smith, a conspicuous follower of 
Mr. Campbell, and a man of unusual native ability, 
made it his business to visit the association of North- 

10 



98 Kentucky Baptist History— 1770-1922 

ern and Central Kentucky and oppose with all of his 
powers the separation when it was suggested. 

Perhaps the reason for the strenuous opposition of 
the Campbellites to being separated from the Baptists 
was a feeling that they could make proselytes faster 
being on the inside than they could being on the out- 
side. And, too, they may have felt that by holding off 
the separation for a while they would have a majority 
in practically all the churches and thus exclude the 
minority and take possession of the property, as they 
did in a few cases where they had the majority. The 
Baptists had to force the separation, and it would 
have been better for their cause had they forced it 
several years earlier. 

Campbellism is strong as a proselyting force, but 
weak as an evangelizing force. Perhaps their great 
decline in membership within the last few years is 
due to the fact that they have largely abandoned the 
proselyting method. For the first half cntury of its 
existence Campbellism was almost wholly an ecclesias- 
tical parasite. They built themselves up by tearing 
down others. 

The Rev. W. C. Taylor, in his Biography of Elder 
Alfred Taylor (p. 51) says, in speaking of "a most 
fearful church trial" in Green River Church, that 
' ' Troubles never come single-handed. The wounds of 
internal dissension are not healed until that system 
come along which thrives best where there is the least 
vital religion. I refer to Campbellism. History 
abundantly testifies to this. Where a church is at peace 
and in the enjoyment of the fruits of the Holy Spirit, 
Campbellism is powerless to affect it for evil. But 
let a church become involved in petty strife and dis- 
sensions and there you will find the devil's prelude 
for the introduction of Campbellism. Thus it was at 
Green River. Satanic power having opened the way 
in the previous alienation, a son of A. Campbell 
enters in and proposes to complete the work of disin- 
tegration and destruction so effectually begun. Here 
they concentrated the Campbellite forces of the Green 



The Campbellian Split— 1830 99 

River country. Finding some material suited to their 
building they proceeded with its erection. After their 
utmost efforts to ruin the church of God at Green 
River, they could only boast of having 'stolen eight 
fat wethers from the Baptists.' As Paul contended 
with beasts at Ephesus so did Alfred Taylor at Green 
River. ' ' This is Campbellism in its beginning. 

Another reason perhaps, for their declension is the 
fact that the disciples of Mr. Campbell have aban- 
doned practically everything that Mr. Campbell 
brought in as a "Reformation." None of their edu- 
cated ministers today will preach straight Campbell- 
ism — "Be dipped or be damned," or "The acceptance 
of one fact and the performance of one act procures 
salvation," or "The act of immersion is itself regen- 
eration ' ' ; nor will they ridicule the operation of the 
Holy Spirit. They have also given up the name 
"Christian Church" and accepted as their official 
title, "Disciples of Christ." They no longer have any 
proselyting plea ; nor have they any excuse for their 
separate existence, as they hold and teach nothing 
that is not taught by others with priority in their cor- 
porate existence. 



CHAPTER IX 

The Anti-Mission Split— 1832 to 1842 

Kentucky has long been known as the "dark and 
bloody ground." She has been the storm center of 
controversy; the battlefield of many jarring opinions 
and conflicting doctrines. The anti-mission spirit 
flourished for a time in Kentucky's fruitful soil. In 
this chapter it is the author's purpose to give a some- 
what brief account of the rise, progress and decline of 
anti-missionism in Kentucky. 

Dr. Albert Henry Newman in his " Introduction ' ' 
to "The Genesis of American Anti-missionism " by 
Dr. B. H. Carroll, Jr., says, (p. 3). 

' ' A connected and somewhat exhaustive account of 
the anti-missionary movement that resulted from the 
pressing of foreign mission, home mission, Sunday 
school, educational, and other forms of organized 
denominational work under the auspices of the Trien- 
nial Convention, with Luther Rice as its chief agent, 
and Judson's work in Burma as its chief inspiration, 
has long been a desideratum. The strength of the 
opposition throughout the South and the Southwest 
to the work of the Triennial Convention during the 
third and fourth decades of the nineteenth century 
may be illustrated by the following facts : During the 
first four or five years after the organization of the 
Triennial Connvention (1814) , the Baptist churches of 
Tennessee were nearly all friendly to the foreign mis- 
sion cause and contributed toward its funds. Within 
a few years all the missionary societies that had been 
formed for co-operation with the Triennial Convention 
were dissolved and the association rescinded the reso- 
lutions that had been passed in favor of missions and 
related departments of denominational work. In 
Georgia and Alabama a life-and-death struggle 

100 



The Anti-Mission Split— 1832 to 1842 101 

between the friends of missions and co-operative work 
and the malignant enemies of missions raged for 
years, and the issue, apart from firm faith in the God 
of missions, might well have seemed doubtful. As 
late as 1845 twelve of the thirty-four Virginia asso- 
ciations, including the old Ketokton, were aggress- 
ively anti-missionary. Equally successful was the 
anti-missionary propaganda in Kentucky. Ohio, 
where Alexander Campbell's influence was great, and 
the writings of Daniel Parker and John Taylor were 
circulated, was an equally fruitful field for the anti- 
missionary propaganda. In 1820 the Ohio Baptist 
churches had contributed $547.09 for foreign missions. 
From 1821 to 1828 contributions ceased entirely, 
while the contributions in 1829 and 1830 were $10 
and $5 respectively. The wonderful success of the 
opponents of missions from 1820 to 1840 needs to be 
explained, and Doctor Carroll has performed a ser- 
vice of great value in bringing together from rare 
sources a large amount of material illustrative of the 
spirit and the methods of the opposition to organized 
missionary work. He has made effective use of the 
scarce writings of Daniel Parker and John Taylor, 
and has demonstrated more fully than any earlier 
writer the contribution of Alexander Campbell to the 
anti-missionary movement." Doctor Newman's state- 
ment is very comprehensive. 

Early Baptists in Kentucky All Missionary in 
Spirit and Practice 

Those who think that the "Old Baptists" or 
"Primitive Baptists" because of their ancient sound- 
ing names are the original Baptists would do well to 
read history. Spencer (Vol. I, p. 570) says "Pre- 
vious to 1816, there was not an Anti-mission Baptist 
in Kentucky, so far as known. In every association, 
where a missionary enterprise was proposed, it met 
with universal favor." A long account is given by 
Spencer showing that the early churches, and asso- 
ciations of Kentucky sent missionaries to Tennessee, 



102 Kentucky Baptist History— 1770-1922 

Ohio, Indiana and to the Indians, paying them for 
their services, the amount paid, in one case, being 
named. 

It is an interesting fact, too, that history records 
that one of the men who afterwards became a leader 
of the anti-mission forces, went to Tennessee as mis- 
sionary in 1791. Here are the facts as given by 
Spencer (Vol. I, p. 570). "In the early period of the 
first churches, planted on the soil of Kentucky, mis- 
sionaries were sent to the surrounding country. The 
oldest church in what was then called West (now 
Middle) Tennessee, was constituted by Ambrose 
Dudley and John Taylor. These ministers in 1791 
traveled through a wilderness, on horseback, nearly 
two hundred miles, where they were constantly ex- 
posed to destruction by the Indians, to establish the 
Redeemer's cause in this remote settlement. John 
Sutton and James Sutton were afterwards sent, in 
turn, by Elkhorn Association, to minister to this 
church, and the Moderator was directed to pay them 
£13, 12s, 8d, for this service'.' These missionaries 
were "sent" and "paid" for their services. 

As sad as it is to record the fact, from this time 
on in this chapter, we find John Taylor one of the 
most successful leaders of the anti-mission forces. 

The formal separation between the Missionaries 
and Anti-missionaries took place within the decade 
between 1832 and 1842. The anti-mission spirit was 
manifested in some of the associations prior to 1830 
but not one had declared itself anti-mission. The 
date usually accepted as the beginning of "the split" 
is 1832. Dr. W. P. Throgmorton in his debate with 
Elder Lemuel Potter, Hardshell, held in Fulton, Ken- 
tucky, July 1887, takes this position. (Throgmorton- 
Potter Debate). 

Much of this chapter is taken from Chapter III, 
"The Rise of the Hardshells" in "The Genesis of 
American Anti-Missionism, " by Dr. B. H. Carroll, 
Jr. Doctor Carroll says, "The leaders against mis- 
sions have been many. The opposition against mis- 



The Anti-Mission Split— 1832 to 1842 103 

sions has been one, in origin, progress, argument, and 
spirit, although hydra-headed in its various forms 
of manifestation. It is the purpose of this chapter 
to ascertain its genesis and trace and demonstrate its 
unity through its varying forms. Every great move- 
ment is to a large extent identified with its leaders. 
The biographical method is the true one by which to 
study history. We therefore present some accounts 
of the three great leaders in the anti-mission crusade. 
.... The three leaders were John Taylor, of Ken- 
tucky; Daniel Parker, of Illinois; and Alexander 
Campbell, of Virginia. Mr. Campbell has not usually 
been given credit for his part in the rise and progress 
of anti-missions. 

John Taylor was an earnest, consecrated, self- 
sacrificing and conscientious minister of the gospel, 
and one time a thorough missionary, as we have 
shown. No man can read the account of his conver- 
sion, or the story of his efforts to evangelize Kentucky 
and Tennessee for Christ, without feeling that he was 
a converted and honest man. He was the victim of 
the prejudices engendered by his lack of education 
and his early environment. Yet all his good qualities 
but served to give respectability and force to his oppo- 
sition to the mission cause. It is pleasant to recall 
that in his later life he was more in sympathy with 
the mission movement and less timorous of the bug- 
bear which he had been the first to raise. But, as 
Doctor Spencer well saj^s: "His pamphlet had gone 
forth on its pernicious mission, and probably did 
more to check the cause of missions, in Kentucky, 
than any other publication of the period." For a 
comprehension of the better side of John Taylor, one 
should read his "History of Ten Churches." 

Doctor Carroll says: "Daniel Parker was con- 
temporary with John Taylor and claims to be the 
first opponent of the Mission system. 'It makes me 
shudder when I think I am the first one (that I have 
any knowledge of) among the thousands of zealous 
religionists of America, that have ventured to draw 



104 Kentucky Baptist History — 1770-1922 

the sword against the error, or to shoot at it and spare 
no arrows.' But it is doubtful if this statement be 
true. Taylor wrote in 1819, Parker in 1820 and his 
pamphlet was republished in 1824, at which time it 
was printed at Lexington, Kentucky, along with an- 
other on the same topic and rehashing the same argu- 
ment, addressed to Maria Creek Church. Parker was 
a son of John Parker. He was born in Culpepper 
County, Virginia, reared in Georgia amid extreme 
poverty and ignorance, baptized in 1802, and licensed 
shortly after. In 1803 he removed to Trumbull 
Church in Tennessee, was ordained there in 1806, and 
moved to Southeastern Illinois in 1817. He claims 
to have traveled through a great many of the States 
of America. In 1810, an old brother in Tennessee 
advocated in a crude form the Two-Seed Doctrine. 
Parker rebuked him for it, but in 1826 set forth in 
pamphlet an elaboration of the same views. 

1 i It is not easy to explain, at least what was meant 
by Mr. Parker himself, in the phrase t Two-Seed/ 
which in time became so notorious. This at least 
may be said: The teaching represented by it was 
that form of antinomianism which carried the doctrine 
of predestination to its utmost extreme. 

''The essence of God is good; the essence of evil 
is the Devil. Good angels are emanations from or 
particles of God; evil angels are particles of the 
Devil. When God created Adam and Eve, they were 
endowed with an emanation from himself or particles 
of God were included in their constitution. They were 
wholly good. Satan, however, diffused into them 
particles of his essence by which they were corrupted. 
In the beginning God had appointed that Eve should 
bring forth only a certain number of offsprings; the 
same provision applied to each of her daughters. But 
when the particles of evil essence had been infused 
by Satan, the conception of Eve and her daughters 
was increased. They were now required to bear the 
original number, who were styled the seed of God, 
and an additional number who were called the seed 
of the serpent. ' ' 



The Anti-Mission Split— 1832 to 1842 105 

This Two-Seed doctrine is a curious revival, with 
some modifications of the ancient speculative philos- 
ophy of Manichaeus. Doctor Newman calls it a 'very 
disgusting form of Gnostic heresy.' It is easy to see 
how such a heresy would cause opposition to missions ; 
for the progeny of one of the seed would constitute 
the body of Christ, whose salvation is provided. The 
following quotation is taken from page 11 of a copy 
of the first minutes of the General Association of 
Baptists in Kentucky, organized at Louisville, Friday, 
October 20th, 1837. 

' ' The Anti-missionary spirit owes its origin to the 
notorious Daniel Parker. He was the first person 
called Baptist that lent a hand to the Infidel, and 
Papist in opposing the proclamation of the gospel to 
every creature, and the translation and circulation of 
the Scriptures in all languages and among all people. 
Possessing a strong native intellect, and a bold adven- 
turous imagination — with a mind cast in nature's 
most capacious mold, but for want of cultivation 
admirably calculated to be the receptacle of notions, 
the most crude, extravagant and chimerical, he 
generated an Utopian scheme of theology, the tend- 
ency of which was to subvert all practical religion. 
The grounds of his opposition to missions were that 
the devil was an eternal ' self -subsist ent being' (to use 
his own phrase) ; that though God created all, yet 
the devil begat a part of mankind ; that those begotten 
of the devil were his bona fide children, and to their 
father they would and ought to go; and of course 
sending them the gospel and giving them the Bible 
were acts of such gross and supreme folly that no 
Christian should be engaged in them. On the other 
hand he taught that the remaining portion of the 
human family were the actual sons of God from 
eternity, and being allied to Jesus Christ ere 'the 
morning stars sang together and all the sons of God 
shouted for joy' by tie nearest and dearest ties of 
consanguinity, being no less than 'particles' of his 
body — bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh, the 



106 Kentucky Baptist History— 1770-1922 

Redeemer nolens volens, take them to mansions pre- 
pared for them in bliss; and hence Mr. Parker very 
wisely concluded, that if such were the case, the Lord 
had very little use for the Bible or Missionary Socie- 
ties But there were many who embraced only 

half the doctrine of Mr. Parker and though they 
manifested no great apprehension for the liege sub- 
jects of the Prince of Darkness, yet they expressed 
great alarm lest the missionaries should help the Lord 
to perform his work, and convert the souls of some in 
a way God never intended they should be. They were 
such staunch friends of the Lord's doing all his work, 
that they set upon and terribly assailed their mis- 
sionary brethren, for fear they should by some means 
assist the Lord in the salvation of his elect. In their 
zeal against these ambitious strides of the missionaries, 
they have occasioned great disturbance and distress — 
and destroying the Peace of Zion, the progress of 
religion has been greatly retarded, and the influence 
and usefulness of many ministers and churches utterly 
paralyzed. ' ' 

Doctor Carroll, of Texas, in a speech before the 
Southern Baptist Convention at Hot Springs, Ark- 
ansas, in 1900, compared Parker in his violence to a 
wild boar rooting up the tender plants in a garden. 
The following description of the person and person- 
ality of Daniel Parker was written by Dr. John M. 
Peck, of Home Missions fame, while Parker was still 
alive and active : 

"Mr. Parker is one of those singular and extra- 
ordinary beings whom divine Providence permits to 
arise as a scourge to his church, and a stumbling- 
block in the way of religious effort. Raised on the 
frontier of Georgia, (by others he is spoken of as a 
native of Virginia), without education, uncouth in 
manner, slovenly in dress, dimunitive in person, un- 
prepossessing in appearance, with shrivelled features 
and a small piercing eye, few men for a series of years 
have exercised a wider influence on the lower and less 
educated class of frontier people. With a zeal and an 



The Anti-Mission Split— 1832 to 1842 107 

enthusiasm bordering on insanity, firmness that 
amounted to obstinacy, and perseverance that would 
have done honor to a good cause, Daniel Parker ex- 
erted himself to the utmost to induce churches to 
declare non-fellowship with all Baptists who united 
themselves with any of the benevolent (or as he called 
them "new-fangled") societies. 

"His mind we are told was of a singular and 
original sort. In doctrine he was antinomian. He 
believed himself inspired, and so persuaded others. 
Repeatedly we have heard him when his mind seemed 
to soar above his own powers, and he would discourse 
for a few moments on divine attributes or on some 
devotional subject, with such brilliancy of thought 
and correctness of language as would astonish men of 
education and talents. Then again it would seem as if 
he were perfectly bewildered in a maze of abstruse 
subtleties. 

' ' Besides his itineracy among the churches, Parker 
was a writer, and among other things published for 
a time a periodical called the "Church Advocate." 
How much a person of influence he was is shown by 
the fact that during four years, from 1822 to 1826, 
he was a member of the Illinois State Senate. His 
disastrous career in Illinois and Indiana came to a 
close in 1833, when he removed to Texas. 

"It is said of Daniel Parker, that at one time 
in his earlier career he applied for appointment as 
missionary, and when it was refused him, turned 
against mission societies and missionary effort of 
every kind. This was true at least of his coadjutor, 
Wilson Thompson. Just how far Parker was influ- 
enced by Taylor cannot be known ; but Wilson Thomp- 
son, his coadjutor, admits to being greatly influenced 
by reading Taylor's pamphlet. Recent mission 
troubles in Texas may possibly be due in part to 
Parker 's labors after reaching that State, although we 
can discover nothing of his life after he moved to 
Texas. The Parkerite heresy has not yet died out, 
for the census bulletin for 1893 reports the mem- 



108 Kentucky Baptist History— 1770-1922 

bership of this sect in the entire country at 9,932." 
The third and greatest opposer to the mission 
system was Alexander Campbell. In August, 1823, 
he began to publish a small religious monthly, called 
The Christian Baptist. After making an exten- 
sive tour through some of the Western States and 
finding the anti-mission leaven implanted by Parker 
and Taylor already at work, he became much more 
bold in his attacks so that Daniel Parker established 
The Church Advocate, a periodical similar in 
size, form and aim to the Christian Baptist, for 
the purpose of advocating church sovereignty and 
exclusiveness, in opposition to benevolent societies in 
the "West. There can be no doubt that in this Parker 
and Campbell made common cause. 

Doctor Carroll says, "While the chief root of 
Parker's opposition lay in his heresy, Campbell's lay 
in the fact that he considered himself a Reformer. 
As he said in his preface, it would do no good to con- 
vert heathens to a form of Christianity held by men 
who themselves needed to be converted to New Testa- 
ment Christianity. Reformers have never been mis- 
sionaries, nor the reforming ages periods of mission- 
ary activity in the church. This was true of the 
Roman church. For three hundred years, while the 
reformers were trying by means of councils to cleanse 
the church in head and members, there was no mis- 
sionary activity. Not until after the Reformation, 
when the Council of Trent had finally put a quietus 
on the reform movements, did Roman missionary 
activity begin. The same was true of the Protestant 
churches. As long as Europe was filled with the jan- 
gling of their warring creeds, missionary effort, though 
feebly attempted a few times, miserably failed. But 
in the fullness of time when religious opinions had 
all clarified and crystallized into settled creeds, Cary 
arose to set the Christian world on fire with mission- 
ary enthusiasm. Campbell, then, as a reformer could 
not readily be a missionary. His mistake lay in sup- 
posing the Baptists needed reformation. What they 



The Anti-Mission Split— 1832 to 1842 109 

needed was co-operation and missionary zeal. This, 
Campbell was not responsible for giving them, except 
as Judas was responsible for our redemption. ' ' 

Some combinations are hard to understand. We 
have here the curious spectacle of the highest anti- 
nomianism, represented by Parker and Taylor, and 
the most extreme Arminianism, represented by Camp- 
bell, combined to attack the principles of missions. So 
we find that other things than politics make strange 
bedfellows. The one side claimed it to be an infringe- 
ment of the divine, and the other of church sover- 
eignty. The Gospel Missioners of today make the 
latter claim. Doctor Spencer truly says of Campbell, 
that he exercised more influence over the Baptists of 
Kentucky than of any other state, and that while l i not 
the originator of opposition to missions he was its 
most successful advocate." It is not our purpose to 
follow Mr. ampbell into all the doctrinal and creedal 
vagaries into which his reform policy led him. But 
by attacking and attempting to change the very plan 
of salvation itself, the only doctrine more vital than 
that of missions, he finally succeeded in adding an- 
other to the already large number of sects in Christ- 
endom. His activity in this line was so great and its 
results are so well known as to obscure his responsi- 
bility for the Hardshell split. Doctor Carroll makes 
the charge that ''Alexander Campbell was the father 
of twins, Hardshellism and Campbellism. Hardshell- 
ism first gave indication of its appearance, but as in 
the case of Jacob and Esau, it was supplanted in the 
womb by its brother, Campbellism. Hardshellism, 
though longer in taking to itself a local habitation and 
a name, was the first of the two to disturb the Baptist 
denomination. But here, as in the case of Parker, 
many followed him (Campbell) in his opposition to 
missions, who did not join him in his doctrinal vaga- 
ries and who were left behind to vex the saints when 
the believers in his creed, as set forth in the Christian 
Baptist and the Millennial Harbinger, went out from 
the Baptists to form a new denomination. The de- 



110 Kentucky Baptist History— -1770-1922 

nomination he founded has found it necessary in the 
struggle for existence to discard all his anti-mission- 
ary ideas, and to use all the methods he so unspar- 
ingly burlesqued." The ''Non-progressive" wing of 
the Campbellites is still anti-mission in sentiment. 
They are simon pure Campbellites. 

As to Mr. Campbell's teaching and influence on 
Missions in Kentucky, we can give no better authority 
than Doctor Spencer in his "History of Kentucky 
Baptists" Vol. I, pp. 593, 594). 

"Mr. Campbell's opposition to theological schools 
and educated ministry was equally persistent with 
his endeavors to destroy Missionary and Bible socie- 
ties. Of the truth of this, sufficient evidence has been 
given in the extracts already quoted from his writings. 
If the reader desires to investigate the subject further, 
he is referred to the Christian Baptist in its original 
form ; not to the more recent publications under that 
title. 

' ' The effects of these teachings were felt as far as 
the Christian Baptist was circulated, and nowhere 
more than among the Baptists of Kentucky. The 
preachers who had hitherto received but a small pit- 
tance from their charges, were further reduced in their 
resources of living. The friends of education were 
discouraged in their endeavors to erect a college. The 
Baptist missionary societies, that started under such 
auspicious circumstances, were dwarfed, and ulti- 
mately perished. The ministers were brought into dis- 
repute among those who most needed the restraints 
of their teachings, and practical benevolence was well 
nigh destroyed in the churches, at least, so far as 
any effort to spread a knowledge of the gospel was 
concerned. It required the labors of thirty years to 
bring the Baptist churches of Kentucky up to the 
standard of Christian benevolence, to which they had 
attained, in 1816, and a considerable fraction of them 
continued their downward course, in this respect, 
thirty years longer. ' ' 

Doctor Spencer seems to be the first of our Baptist 



The Anti-Mission Split- -1832 to 1842 111 

historians to recognize and credit Mr. Campbell with 
the large part he played in anti-missionism. 

Quoting Doctor Carroll again (pp. 157-8) "Prior 
to 1830, the Licking Association of Kentucky adopted 
the policy of Mr. Campbell in regard to missions, be- 
nevolent societies and theological education, (The 
Licking Association, however, did not declare non- 
fellowship for missions until 1834. See Spencer, Vol. 
II, p. 243 — Nowlin), but rejected his theology. In 
the meantime, of course, Mr. Campbell had been 
developing his theology in its more well-known forms 
and laying the foundation for a new denomination. 
In Kentucky, by 1830, there was a definite separation 
between the Baptists and the Disciples, as they called 
themselves. The remnant of the one-time strong 
Arminian element among the Baptists had gone with 
the Disciples. But the fact that this Arminianism 
was made prominent prevented many of those among 
the Baptists who shared Mr. Campbell's views in re- 
gard to missionary operations, Bible distribution and 
theological education, from joining his 'Disciples.' 
These were left among the Baptists to cause yet fur- 
ther division. The anti-missionaries thus left behind 
were not agreed among themselves. The larger ele- 
ment, represented by Licking, Red River and other 
Associations, was decidedly antinomian in its doctrine. 
This antinomian faction was itself divided on the 
Two-Seeds doctrine of Parker and afterward on the 
resurrection. The other division of the anti-mission- 
aries followed Doctor Andrew Fuller's interpretation 
of the doctrines of grace, but 'opposed all human 
societies' for carrying the gospel. The number of 
these anti-missionaries left was about 7,000 ; their loss 
in numbers would have been seriously felt, but the 
power of the church to recuperate would have been 
greatly strengthened had they gone out with the rest 
of Mr. Campbell's 'Disciples.' " 

In the Life of Thomas J. Fisher (p. 68) Doctor 
Spencer, after giving account of the inroads made by 
Campbellism and anti-missionism says: "This was 



112 Kentucky Baptist History— 1770-1922 

the condition of the Baptist denomination in Ken- 
tucky in A. D. 1835. For a number of years weakened 
and embarrassed by a heartless, inert fatalism (Hard- 
shellism) on one side, and a turbulent, factious ration- 
alism (Campbellism) on the other, she separated from 
them both at a cost of nearly or quite one-half of her 
entire membership. " These losses, however, were 
gains to the Baptists in the end. 

The early Kentucky Baptists not only sent mis- 
sionaries to the Indians, but established schools for 
their children, as the following shows: "The Ken- 
tucky Missionary Society established a school for 
Indian children near Georgetown, Kentucky, to which 
they gave the name of Choctaw Academy. The school 
opened with eight red children, in the spring of 1819. 
The number of students increased from year to year, 
till it became a large and nourishing school. In 1828, 
seventeen of the Indians in this school were baptized 
into Great Crossing Church, in Scott County, and of 
the number, Sampson Birch and Robert Jones, became 
preachers of the gospel among their people in the far 
West" ("History of Kentucky Baptists/' Vol. I, 
p. 579). 

This shows that the early Baptists in Kentucky 
were favorable to both missions and education, and 
not only in sentiment, but in their efforts. 

' ' The decade extending from 1810 to 1820 was one 
of great prosperity to the Baptists of Kentucky. There 
were ten associations formed during that period, ' ' 
says Spencer (Vol. I, p. 579). This shows that the 
anti-mission spirit had not yet become prevalent in 
Kentucky. 

In the history of the Salem Association Spencer 
records the fact that "In 1818, the association ear- 
nestly recommended the churches to contribute to mis- 
sionary purposes, and expressed the opinion that edu- 
cational societies greatly conduce to the promotion of 
the Redeemer's Kingdom." (Vol. II, p. 54). 

The anti-mission split in this association did not 
occur until 1839, when a few churches split off and 



The Anti-Mission Split— 1832 to 1842 113 

constituted "Otto Creek Association of Regular Bap- 
tists." In Tate's Creek Association according to 
Spencer (Vol. II, p. 95) the division took place in 
1842. 

The Licking Association became a " Hardshell, ' ' 
or anti-mission association, in 1834. Spencer in his 
history of the Licking Association says (Vol. II, p. 
243) : "The association still continued to increase 
slowly in numbers till 1834, when it reached a mem- 
bership of 32 churches, aggregating 1,483 members. 
These are the largest numbers it has ever attained. It 
had been made sufficiently manifest, by the transac- 
tions of 1820 that the body was opposed to missions. 
But now the more radical of the churches began to 
clamor for a direct expression on the subject. Accord- 
ingly the association in 1834 recorded its views in the 
following language: 'In answer to the suggestions 
made in several of the letters from our churches, we 
declare non-fellowship for missionary, Bible, tract 
(and) temperance societies, theological and Sabbath 
schools and Baptist conventions as religious institu- 
tions, believing (that) they are without divine war- 
rant.' " The call from the churches for "a direct 
expression" on the subject of missions shows that the 
association had not yet taken a definite stand on this 
question ; and the action of the association shows the 
same. 

At their meeting in 1820 "A circular letter from 
the Baptist Board of Foreign Missions was laid on 
the table, which was equivalent to withdrawing cor- 
respondence from that organization" (Spencer, Vol. 
II, p. 242). This action and the minutes of former 
meetings show that the association had been in cor- 
respondence with the Board of Foreign Missions. The 
above shows that the Licking Association did not 
declare itself anti-missionary until 1834, and the fol- 
lowing shows that as a result of that declaration she 
lost many of her churches. ' * The church at Dry Run 
withdrew from the association the same year that she 
declared non-fellowship for missionary societies. In 
li 



114 Kentucky Baptist History— 1770-1922 

1837 East Hickman and Kichland Creek withdrew; 
and in 1839, Mill Creek, Poplar Grove, White Oak 
Kun, North Fork and Licking Locust were dropped 
from the association, for failing, two successive years, 
to represent themselves." (Spencer, Vol. II, p. 244). 
The division in the Highland Association took place 
in 1835. The churches withdrawing at this meeting 
constituted the Little Bethel Association on Saturday- 
preceding the second Lord's day in September, 1836. 
The author has before him an old ledger giving the 
minutes of the association from its organization in 
1836 to 1866, written in a fine, clear, legible style. 

In the first minutes of the association is set forth 
the reason for its organization in the following: 
" First. On motion and second, it was unanimously 
agreed that the following preamble be inserted in 
front of our minutes. To all whom it may concern, 
be it known, that we the constituent members of the 
Little Bethel Association, this day formed at Flat 
Creek meeting house, Hopkins County, Kentucky, 
having been heretofore members of the Highland As- 
sociation, and having seen with mortification and deep 
regret the violent opposition of a majority of that 
body to the benevolent institutions of the day, and 
that they have repeatedly violated the spirit and let- 
ter of the constitution thereof within the last four 
years." Here they set forth a number of items of 
complaint. It will be observed that the main reason 
for this separation was "the violent opposition of a 
majority of that body to the Benevolent Institutions 
of the day." 

The Little Bethel Association is now a strong asso- 
ciation with a membership of 3,403, while the High- 
land, which became anti-missionary, has dwindled 
away. 

Of the North District Association Spencer says, 
(Vol. II, p. 124) : "The anti-missionary complexion 
of the body was manifested by its dropping correspon- 
dence with all the neighboring associations, except 
Burning Springs, between the years 1837 and 1842. 



The Anti-Mission Split— 1832 to 1842 115 

In 1859 it assumed the name of 'Old Baptist,' which 
it still bears." The name "Old Baptist" indicates 
that it is an anti-missionary body. This name, how- 
ever, was not assumed until 1859. 

The Baptists have rallied from these blows and 
now probably outnumber all the Protestant denomi- 
nations in the state combined. So far as the author 
can ascertain there are but few anti-mission Baptist 
churches in Kentucky today, and the few that do 
exist, are weak and dying. Anti-missions is one of the 
most blighting heresies that can strike a church. The 
vital principle of the Christian religion seems to be, 
give and live or deny and die. "There is that scat- 
tereth and yet increaseth; there is that withholdeth 
more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty." 

This has been thoroughly demonstrated by the 
Missionary and Anti-missionary Baptists, not only in 
Kentucky, but throughout the entire country. 
Baptist Growth 

According to a survey of the Baptist development 
in the United States in the century from 1821 to 
1921, just completed by Dr. E. P. Alldredge, Secre- 
tary of Survey, Statistics and Information of the 
Baptist Sunday School Board, Nashville, Tenn., the 
Baptist growth during that period was 7,716,563, or 
2,967 per cent. The larger part of this growth was 
experienced in the South, where there are now 6,162,- 
500 Baptists. 

Kentucky has a total Baptist strength of 381,865, 
Doctor Alldredge finds. This number is accounted 
for as follows: 

White Baptists co-operating with Southern Bap- 
tist Convention, 261,135; non-co-operating white 
Baptists, 30,730 ; Negro Baptists, 90,000. Of the 30,- 
730 "non-co-operating Baptists" Doctor Alldredge 
gives "Primitive Baptists 2,250." This seems to be 
the strength of the Anti-mission Baptists in Ken- 
tucky at the present time, while the white Baptists 
of the state number about 300,000. 



CHAPTER X 
The Kentucky Baptist Convention — 1832 

"The Kentucky Baptist Convention ' ' is an almost 
forgotten chapter in Kentucky Baptist history. It 
was like man born of woman "of few days and full 
of troubles.' ' 

In March of the year 1832 a number of Baptists 
met in Bardstown and organized a state convention 
which had a short and checkered career. Spencer 
(Vol. I, page 651) says: "The whole number of dele- 
gates was thirty-four. Silas M. Noel was elected 
moderator, and Henry Wingate clerk. The meeting 
adopted the following: 

Constitution of the Kentucky Baptist State 
Convention 

"Art. 1. This convention shall be known by the 
name of the Kentucky Baptist Convention. 

"2. It shall be composed of those, and those only, 
who belong to or are in correspondence with the Gen- 
eral Union of Baptists of Kentucky. 

"3. Any church, auxiliary society or association 
belonging to the Baptist connection shall be entitled 
to three representatives qualified as in Article 2. 

"4. The representatives of the churches, societies 
and associations, when assembled in convention, shall 
have no ecclesiastical jurisdiction over the churches 
or associations, nor act even as an advisory council 
in cases of difficulty between churches, nor shall they 
interfere with the constitution of any church or asso- 
ciation, nor with the articles of general union. 

"5. The convention, when met, shall elect a 
moderator, three corresponding secretaries, clerk, 
treasurer, and as many other members as the con- 
vention may, from time to time, think necessary; 

116 



The Kentucky Baptist Convention — 1832 117 

who, together with said officers, shall be an executive 
board; a majority may constitute a quorum for busi- 
ness. During the recess of the convention, its business 
shall be transacted by the executive committee, who 
shall have power to fill vacancies in their own body, 
and shall submit a report of their proceedings to each 
annual meeting. 

"6. The convention shall, annually, collect and 
publish a statistical account of the churches and asso- 
ciations in this state, devise and execute plans for 
supplying destitute churches and neighborhoods with 
the gospel of Christ, and have the power to disburse 
monies, contributed by the churches and associations, 
in the manner specified by the contributors, provided 
special instructions are sent. 

"7. All monies contributed by the churches, 
associations and others to aid traveling preachers and 
to advance the benevolent views and objects of the 
convention generally shall be specifically appropriated 
to those purposes. 

* ' 8. The convention shall send forth men of tried 
integrity and usefulness to preach the gospel. 

''The two only remaining articles relate to the 
time and place of meeting, and the amending of the 
constitution. A brief circular letter was appended to 
the minutes of the convention, explaining the objects 
of the institution, as set forth in the constitution. 
The sum of $190.68% was placed at the disposal of 
the convention, and after passing some unimportant 
resolutions it adjourned to meet at New Castle the 
following October. 

"The only important business transacted at the 
'adjourned meeting' at New Castle was the adoption 
of Rules of Decorum and the report of a special 
committee that had been charged with the duty of 
establishing a weekly newspaper as the organ of the 
convention. This duty had been discharged by the 
establishment of the Cross and the Baptist Banner, 
the first Baptist weekly that was published in Ken- 
tucky. The first number had been issued previous 



118 Kentucky Baptist History — 1770-1922 

to this meeting of the convention. Uriel B. Cham- 
bers was its editor, and assumed all the pecuniary 
responsibility of its publication, taking the profits of 
the paper as a compensation for his labors. 

"The first annual meeting of the Kentucky Bap- 
tist Convention was held at Lexington, beginning May 
25, 1833. George Waller preacher the introductory 
sermon. There were present twenty-six delegates, 
representing ten auxiliary associations and three 
churches. The report of the executive committee was 
encouraging. Forty commissions had been issued, ten 
of which had been accepted by the missionaries. 
Ninety weeks of missionary labor had been performed, 
and between 400 and 500 had been baptized. The 
receipts of the committee during the year amounted 
to $595. 52%, which was overdrawn by the mission- 
aries, leaving a small indebtedness on the com- 
mittee. 

"The second annual meeting of the convention 
began in Louisville October 18, 1834. Alfred Bennett 
of New York preached the introductory sermon. Only 
fifteen delegates were present. Only three churches 
were represented, the other twelve delegates being 
from auxiliary associations. The report of the execu- 
tive committee was gloomy and discouraging. They 
lament the death, from cholera, of David Thurman, 
Herbert Waggener, James H. L. Moorman and David 
Kelly, all friends of the convention, and the last two 
in its employ as missionaries at the time of their death. 
The treasurer's report showed the receipts for the 
year to have been only $339.17%. It was sufficiently 
manifest that the convention, which was unpopular 
from the beginning, was constantly becoming more so. 
The friends of the organization made strenuous efforts 
to sustain it. But their efforts were in vain. It was 
manifestly falling to pieces. Some of the district asso- 
ciations passed resolutions against it, while others 
were silent on the subject. A newspaper, called the 
Baptist Banner, was started in Shelbyville, edited 
by J. S. Wilson, M. D., and issued semi-monthly as a 



The Kentucky Baptist Convention — 1832 119 

rival of, if not in opposition to, The Cross and Baptist 
Weekly Journal, the organ of the convention. 

"An adjourned meeting of the convention was 
held at Frankfort in January, 1835. John S. Wilson 
preached the introductory sermon. Ten ministers and 
seven delegates were present. It appears from the 
wording of the minutes that the preachers present 
were not delegates. The finances of the convention 
were less satisfactory than at the previous meeting. " 

In addition to the account as given by Spencer, 
we have a more extended account given by Dr. J. M. 
Pendleton in his Jubilee address in Jubilee Volume, 
page two, and following in which he says : 

"Messrs. Noel and Wilson, with others, felt that 
something should be done to supply the destitute parts 
of the state with the preaching of the gospel. In 
furtherance of this object, the Kentucky Baptist Con- 
vention was organized at Bardstown in March, 1832. 
Doctor Noel was chosen moderator, and the number 
of messengers was only thirty-seven. Truly this was, 
in one sense, ' the day of small things, ' but in another 
sense it was the day of great things. It was the plant- 
ing of a grain of mustard seed which germinated 
slowly and grew slowly in its early years, but which 
has now become a tree of respectable size, and des- 
tined, as we trust, at no distant day to send out its 
branches so that all parts of the state may enjoy its 
grateful shade. 

"From the constitution adopted at Bardstown we 
learn that the chief functions of the convention were 
to ' devise and execute plans for supplying destitute 
churches and neighborhoods with the gospel of Christ, ' 
'to disburse monies contributed by the churches and 
associations in the manner specified by the contribu- 
tors, provided special instructions are sent, and to 
send forth men of tried integrity and usefulness to 
preach the gospel. ' 

"The convention began its work with less than 
two hundred dollars in its treasury, and if all the 
Baptist ministers in the state had been its friends the 



120 Kentucky Baptist History — 1770-1922 

number would not have been much in excess of two 
hundred, while the churches were not far from five 
hundred, and the members not much more than thirty- 
five thousand. The difficulty of bringing these com- 
paratively small numbers into harmonious co-opera- 
tion was much greater than most persons can now 
easily imagine. Many brethren were, of course, sus- 
picious of interference with the independence of the 
churches, and many others knew that, as the pur- 
poses of the convention could not be carried into effect 
without money, the best way to keep their money was 
to stand aloof. There were doctrinal differences 
among ministers. Some in the upper part of the state 
were probably too Calvinistic, and some in the Green 
River section had Arminian proclivities. Brethren 
were afraid of one another, and very jealous for the 
interests of orthodoxy as held by themselves. Each 
minister believed himself orthodox, and always looked 
away from himself to find heterodoxy, and very often 
found what he looked for. In short, the state of things 
was by no means promising. 

The convention having been formed at Bards- 
town, adjourned to meet at New Castle in October, 
1832. The convention at New Castle was not numer- 
ously attended, but some choice spirits were there. 
I saw Doctor Noel, a fine looking man, somewhat in- 
clined to corpulency, and as competent to say a good 
deal in few words as almost any man I have seen. 
Dr. George W. Eaton, then of the faculty of 
Georgetown College, was there and said eloquent 
things. Dr. Ryland T. Dillard was present, a fine 
specimen of manly beauty, and the words he spoke 
were words of wisdom. A few other ministers were 
there, among whom was Blackburn, of Woodford 
County ; but they have all passed away. I am, so far 
as I know, the only man living who was at the con- 
vention at New Castle in 1832. 

"In May, 1833, the annual meeting of the conven- 
tion was held in Lexington, and the introductory ser- 
mon was preached by Rev. George Waller. The 



The Kentucky Baptist Convention — 1832 121 

attendance was small, only twenty-six messengers 
present. Ninety weeks of missionary labor were re- 
ported by ten missionaries who had baptized over four 
hundred persons. Receipts of money during the year 
amounted to nearly six hundred dollars. There was 
an adjourned meeting of the convention at Russell- 
ville in October of the same year, though Doctor 
Spencer in his history does not refer to it. I remem- 
ber well Rev. William Warder was moderator, and 
the ministers present were George Waller, John S. 
Wilson, William C. Warfield, Robert T. Anderson, 
Daniel S. Colgan, and others. Of the laymen present 
there was no better specimen of a Christian gentleman 
than Dr. A. Webber, of Hopkinsville. 

"The convention transacted very little business, 
but passed a number of resolutions. It has ever been 
easy to resolve. 

"The second annual meeting of the convention 
was held in Louisville, October, 1834. Rev. Alfred 
Bennett, of New York, agent of the old Triennial 
Convention for Foreign Missions, preached, by re- 
quest, the introductory sermon. The discreditable 
fact can not be denied that fifteen messengers only 
were present. The receipts of the year were a little 
more than half as large as those of the preceding 
year. This was discouraging; but it was more dis- 
couraging that such men of God as David Thurman, 
Herbert Waggener, J. H. L. Moorman, and David 
Kelley had fallen victims to cholera. The last two 
were missionaries, and their death cast sadness and 
gloom over the convention. The prayer of the 
Psalmist was appropriate, 'Help, Lord, for the godly 
man ceaseth.' 

"The convention met, by adjournment, at Frank- 
fort, in January, 1835. It was a small meeting. 
There were present ten ministers and seven laymen. 
A sermon introductory to business was preached by 
Rev. John S. Wilson, and a committee, appointed 
at the annual meeting in October, 1834, Ho devise a 
more efficient plan of itinerant preaching,' made a 



122 Kentucky Baptist History— 1770-1922 

long report. This committee consisted of John S. 
Wilson, George Waller, U. B. Chambers, John Scott, 
Silas M. Noel, and Samuel Haycraft. The report is 
rather a strange paper, and what it says about 'sub- 
ordination and coincidence in the arrangements for 
systematic labor ' defies the comprehension of ordinary 
mortals. It was referred to by John Stevens, editor 
of the Baptist Advocate, of Cincinnati, as an 'able 
report. ' It was written by Wilson, and concurred in 
by the other members of the committee; and while 
Wilson was exceedingly brilliant as an exhorter, he 
was not very happy as a writer. 

"The report recommended that the state be 
divided into three parts, to be styled Eastern, Middle, 
and Western, and that a 'Helping Evangelist' be 
appointed for each division. There was to be in each 
division what was called the 'Evangelical Band' 
(probably evangelistic was meant), and this 'Band 7 
was to be aided by the 'Helping Evangelist/ and to 
make report to him. 

"The report, though it seems to have in it some 
of the visionary element, was adopted by the conven- 
tion, and three 'Helping Evangelists' were elected by 
private ballot, namely, William C. Buck for the 
eastern, George Waller for the middle, and William 
C. Warfield for the western division. It is not prob- 
able that these brethren accepted the places offered 
them. If they did, so far as we know, they made no 
report of their work. Indeed, it is almost certain 
that they saw, on reflection, that they were clothed 
with powers, the exercise of which would not be 
agreeable to ministers or churches. 

"The third annual meeting of the convention was 
held in Louisville in October, 1835. It met with the 
First Church, on Fifth and Green streets. It was a 
time of sadness and sorrow. The pastor, the beloved 
John S. Wilson, had died the preceding August, and 
the church made great lamentation over him. He 
was followed to his grave by a loving band of sincere 
mourners. It was arranged for Doctor Noel to preach 



The Kentucky Baptist Convention — 1832 123 

a funeral sermon on Sunday morning of the conven- 
tion. His text was Luke 12:37: 'Blessed are those 
servants whom the Lord when he cometh shall find 
watching. ' 

"There was but little business done at this meet- 
ing of the convention, and there was not much to 
justify the hope that the organization would ever 
accomplish a great deal. The convention, however, 
held an adjourned meeting at Greensburg in May, 
1836; and in the meantime the stroke of death had 
fallen on William C. War field and Walter Warder, 
whose brother William died in August following. 
Thus the workers were ceasing while the work de- 
manded earnest prosecution. Prospects were gloomy, 
and the friends of Zion wept in secret places. 

' ' If there was an annual meeting of the convention 
in October, 1836, it has escaped my memory, and 
Doctor Spencer makes no reference to it in his history. 
This, however, does not absolutely prove that the con- 
vention did not meet; for Doctor Spencer does not 
mention the meeting at Louisville in October, 1835, 
and the one at Greensburg in May, 1836. This shows 
how difficult it is not to overlook some historical facts ; 
for who could do better than the historian of Ken- 
tucky Baptists has done?" 

Baptists at this time were afraid of conventions. 
The very name did not sound good to their ears, and 
then they were afraid of ecclesiastical authority, so 
the convention died and its demise was mourned by 
but few. 

Dr. Silas M. Noel, however, did not give up his 
efforts to organize the work of the denomination in 
Kentucky. 

The Baptists of Kentucky owe much to the untir- 
ing efforts of the Rev. Silas M. Noel, D. D., for the 
organized work of the state. He, more than any 
other, seemed to realize the need of a general organi- 
zation for the promotion of our state work. 



CHAPTER XI 

The General Association Constituted — 1837 

Five years after the organization of the " State 
Convention " another effort was made to effect a gen- 
eral organization of Baptists in Kentucky. 

Dr. Silas M. Noel, who was largely responsible 
for the constitution of the Baptist State Convention, 
with some others, was still saying "something must 
be done." "The need of a state organization was 
felt by the brethren, so a call was sent out for a 
meeting in Louisville in response to which a number 
of delegates and brethren from various associations 
and churches met in the Baptist meeting-house in 
the city of Louisville, on Friday, October 20, 1837, 
for the purpose of organizing a general Association 
of Baptists in Kentucky.' ' (Spencer here gives a list 
of those present.) 

Following is the constitution which this body 
adopted : 

1st. This body shall be called the General Asso- 
ciation of Baptists in Kentucky. 

2d. This association shall be composed of repre- 
sentatives from such Baptist churches and associations 
in this state as are in regular standing. 

3d. Every such church and association, contribut- 
ing annually to the funds of this association, shall be 
entitled to a representation. 

4th. This association shall, in a special manner, 
aim to promote, by every legitimate means, the pros- 
perity of the cause of God in this state. 

5th. It is distinctly understood that this associa- 
tion shall have no ecclesiastical authority. 

6th. At each meeting of this association there 
shall be elected by ballot a moderator, recording secre- 
tary, corresponding secretary, treasurer, and eleven 

124 



The General Association Constituted — 1837 125 

managers, who shall constitute a board of directors 
for the management of all the business of this associa- 
tion during the recess of its annual meetings, and 
annually report to the same their proceedings. 

7th. The moderator, secretaries and treasurer 
shall perform the duties usually performed by such 
officers in similar associations. 

8th. All associations contributing to this, and 
co-operating in its designs, shall be considered aux- 
iliary to it. 

9th. A general agent may be appointed by the 
association or board of managers, whose duty it shall 
be to survey all the destitution, the means of supply, 
etc., and report regularly to the board, so as to enable 
them to meet the wants of the destitute. He shall 
also raise funds, and in every practical way promote 
the designs of the association, for which he shall re- 
ceive a reasonable support. 

10th. Any visiting brethren in good standing, as 
such shall be entitled to sit in counsel in the annual 
session of this association, but shall not have the right 
to vote. 

11th. The annual meetings of this association 
shall be on Saturday before the third Lord's Day 
in October. 

12th. This constitution may be amended or 
altered (the 5th article excepted) at any annual 
meeting by a concurrence of two-thirds of the mem- 
bers present. 

Under this constitution the General Association of 
Baptists of Kentucky was now fully organized by the 
election of George Waller, Moderator; James E. Tyler, 
recording secretary; John L. Waller, corresponding 
secretary ; and Charles Quiry, treasurer. A committee 
to nominate a board of managers, at least ten of whom 
should be located in or near Louisville, presented the 
following names, which were confirmed by the asso- 
ciation: B. F. Farnsworth, Wm. Colgan, C. Vanbus- 
kirk, T. R. Parent, W. C. Buck, E. A. Bennett, John 
B. Whitman, J. C. Davie, W. Vaughan, G. C. Sed- 
wick, and James M. Pendleton. 



126 Kentucky Baptist History— 1770-1922 

"The association was composed of fifty-seven 
members, twenty of whom were ordained preachers, 
one a licensed preacher, and the remaining thirty-six 
private church members. The visiting brethren 
present were Elder Alfred Bennett, agent of the 
Baptist Board of Foreign Missions; Elder Noah 
Flood, of Missouri ; Silas Webb, M. D., of Alabama ; 
Elder T. G. Keene, of Philadelphia (now Doctor 
K,eene, of Hopkinsville, Kentucky) ; and Elder R. B. 
C. Howell, of Nashville, Tennessee. 

"This was not a large meeting, yet it was one of 
very great importance to the Kentucky Baptists. It 
was destined to inaugurate a line of policy so different 
from that which had been pursued from the planting 
of the first churches in the West as to almost amount 
to a revolution in the practice of the denomination 
in the state.' ' (Spencer, Vol. I, p. 666 f.) 

The "General Association'' struck a more recep- 
tive chord than the "State Convention" had done, as 
its history demonstrates. 

The brethren were not so afraid of the name 
Association as they were of the name Convention. 
They already had district associations, and were used 
to the word, so they accepted the term ' ' General Asso- 
ciation. ' ' Thus Doctor Noel succeeded in getting the 
state work organized. Of course there were others 
who labored faithfully with Doctor Noel to effect this 
organization. 

When the General Association was constituted in 
1837 there were 28,142 Baptists in Kentucky. Spencer 
in his Jubilee Address " Jubilee Volume" (p. 22) says : 

"From a membership of 45,442 comprised in 34 
associations and 614 churches in 1829, the Baptists 
of Kentucky had been reduced to 39,263 members, 
organized in 43 associations and 664 churches. Of 
these about 11,127 were anti-missionaries, leaving only 
28,142 nominal missionaries — a number less than that 
of the Methodists, and hardly equaling that of the 
Campbellites. While they were being swallowed up 
by their prosperous and enthusiastic rival sects with- 



The General Association Constituted — 1837 127 













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The General Association Constituted — 1837 129 

out, they were consuming themselves by perpetual 
discord and strife within. The churches were in a 
large measure destitute of the ministry of the word, 
without which any considerable measure of prosperity 
is hopeless. The whole number of preachers was esti- 
mated at two hundred. 'Of these/ says Mr. Buck, 
' not more than one-third were employed. ' According 
to this estimate there were about ten churches for 
every preacher actually engaged in the work. Of 
these faithful laborers, Mr. Buck says: 'There was 
not one settled pastor in Kentucky, nor one minister 
supported, and not one pastoral laborer except in the 
Louisville church/ The preachers were compelled to 
engage in some secular occupation for a support, and 
as a rule could preach at most only on Saturdays and 
Sundays. By this means less than half of the 
churches could be supplied with Saturday and Sun- 
day preaching once a month.'' 

The outlook that faced our brethren in 1837 when 
they organized the General Association was decidedly 
gloomy, but they were men of faith and courage. The 
General Association of Baptists in Kentucky now has 
a membership of 269,000 and 1,886 churches. 

We give below the historical table of the General 
Association of Baptists in Kentucky for its eighty-five 
years of glorious achievements. 



CHAPTER XII 

The Gospel Mission Deflection — 1894* 

It will be observed that the author does not say 
1 ' Gospel Mission Split, " but ' ' Deflection. ' ' The split 
has not yet taken place, but will come sooner or 
later. Just as the ' * Hardshells " had to be removed 
from our churches for the sake of peace and harmony, 
and for the progress of the kingdom, so the "Gospel 
Missioners, ' ' which is only another name for "Hard- 
shells, ' ' will have to be eliminated for the same reason. 
It is not the numbers but the spirit of the "Gospel 
Missioners" that will make this necessary. Their 
numbers are insignificant, but the spirit of this move- 
ment is bad. 

They have already reached the point where they 
call all of our Baptist people "liars," "thieves," 
"murderers," etc. In the Baptist Flag, the organ 



* Statement of Don Singletary, M. D., Clinton, Ky. 

(The author sent a copy of this manuscript to Doctor 
Singletary, and asked him to read carefully the chapter on 
"The Gospel Mission Deflection." Following is his answer.) 

Clinton, Ky., February 7, 1922. 
Elder Wm. D. Nowlin: 

My Dear Brother: — I have read and re-read your manu- 
script, chapter XII of Kentucky Baptist History on Gospel 
Missions with much interest. I have all the West Kentucky 
Association minutes now before me, and have just read and 
re-read them as to the beginning of the Gospel Mission Plan 
in Kentucky. They show that your history states the facts, 
and is in full accord with their own statements as written and 
published by themselves. 

I was also present at every meeting of the association and 
took part in their plan several years. 

Please send me a copy of your Kentucky Baptist History 
as soon as it is published. 

Your friend and brother, 

(Signed) Don Singletary, M. D. 
130 



The Gospel Mission Deflection — 1894 131 

of the Landmark Gospel Missioners, of April 29, 1920, 
a correspondent named Calvin Gregory of Pleasant 
Shade, Tennessee, in a page and a half of the vilest 
abuse he could heap on the Baptists of the Southern 
Baptist Convention, says: ' ' Conventionism will stop 
at nothing short of murder. It will misrepresent, 
it will practice deception and fraud, it will rob the 
people, it will lie, it will embezzle the funds of the 
people, it is one of the greatest grafting machines 
ever known among the people." And to show that 
this is not simply an individual feeling of Mr. 
Gregory's on reading the above slanderous charges 
against the Baptists of the South, this author wrote 
a note which appeared in the Baptist Flag, July 22, 
1920, calling attention to these awful charges, think- 
ing it would provoke an apology. Here is the note: 
"One Calvin Gregory in the Flag says: 'Conven- 
tionism will lie, steal, misrepresent, and will stop at 
nothing short of murder.' Now, of course, what he 
means by 'Conventionism' is those who are members 
of the Southern Baptist Convention. For an 'ism' 
cannot lie, steal, nor murder. He says they 'will not 
stop short of murder.' Then if they will not stop 
short of murder, they will go as far as to commit 
murder. Not to stop short of murder means to com- 
mit murder. Any intelligent person will admit that 
this is the meaning of this language. Murder is re- 
garded as the worst crime man can commit, and there- 
fore receives the highest penalty — capital punishment. 
No set of criminals can be worse than those who lie, 
steal and murder. So, Brother Gregory says, in effect, 
that those Baptists who belong to the Southern Baptist 
Convention are the worst criminals on earth, and 
deserve to be executed. This is the plain, legitimate 
meaning of his language. 

' ' May our Father richly reward his faithful saints 
who are laboring earnestly and faithfully — giving 
their time and money to extend his kingdom to the 
uttermost parts of the earth, who suffer such slander 
and persecution ; and may he forgive our enemies who 



132 Kentucky Baptist History— 1770-1922 

so slander us. God's richest blessings on those who 
love truth and hate slander.'' Signed, Wm. D. 
Nowlin. 

But instead of an apology the editor, T. F. Moore, 
answers the above in the same issue in the following 
language: "Brother Gregory does not accuse you, 
neither any other convention man directly, as guilty 
of the things named, and yet you, with all who affiliate 
with conventionism, are guilty of many, if not all, the 
things charged." He not only includes this author 
in person by saying "you," but includes every mem- 
ber in the Southern Baptist Convention, saying "you, 
with all who affiliate with conventionism." "You are 
guilty of many, if not all. 9 ' Again, in the Flag of 
August 5, 1920, a writer signing himself "Elder W. 
H. Moser, Clifton, Tenn.," says, referring to "the 
article written by Brother Wm. D. Nowlin in the 
Flag of July 22, 1920, in his comment on what Brother 
Gregory said about conventionism. Now I am going 
to take sides with Brother Gregory. I now make the 
assertion that conventionism will do anything to carry 
out its purpose." You will observe that this writer, 
as well as Editor Moore, endorses all that Gregory 
has said, that is, that "all affiliated with the Southern 
Baptist Convention ' ' will ' ' lie, " " steal, " " embezzle, ' ' 
"rob," "deceive," "murder." In the same issue 
with the above is the following by W. C. Benson, 
Mangum, Okla. : ' ' We heartily endorse Brother 
Clark's write up with regard to Oakley. If Brother 
Clark is not right with regard to this seventy-five 
million drive being hatched up by the devil, we do 
not know what truth means." Daniel Parker, John 
Taylor and Alexander Campbell never said worse 
things about the Baptists, in their fight against mis- 
sions, than those above. The above are but samples 
of the abuse heaped upon the Baptists by the so-called 
"Gospel Missioners." 

This is the reason why I say the split will come 
and should come. No self-respecting people can keep 
in their membership those who call them "liars," 



The Gospel Mission Deflection — 1894 133 

" thieves, " " embezzlers, ' ' "murderers," etc. And if 
they who say those things were sincere and had any 
self-respect, they would not stay in the churches with 
such people. However, when they are put out they 
are going to die, as did the ' ' Hardshells ' ' of nearly 
a century ago. The same anti-mission spirit which 
causes them to hate Baptists because of their mission 
zeal and success will keep them from building church 
houses, paying pastors and sending out and support- 
ing missionaries, which ultimately means death. These 
gospel missioners deny that they are opposed to mis- 
sions, as such, that they only oppose mission methods. 
That is exactly the plea made by Alexander Camp- 
bell, John Taylor and Daniel Parker when they began 
their fight against Baptist missions one hundred years 
ago; but time has demonstrated the fact that the 
malady was deeper than ' ' methods. ' ' They soon went 
to the logical conclusion of their position and fought 
missions outright. 

Gospel Missions in Its Beginning in Kentucky 
This author is well informed as to the beginning 
of Gospel Missions in Kentucky. During the years of 

1893, 1894 and 1895 he was pastor at Hickman, Ken- 
tucky. Elder J. N. Hall was then editing the Baptist 
Flag at Fulton, Kentucky. At this time Mrs. C. E. 
Kerr, Decatur, Georgia, was publishing a small sheet 
called "The Missionary Helper," which was advocat- 
ing Gospel Missions. Hall frequently quoted with 
approval this paper, and finally suggested that the 
West Kentucky Association, of which both of our 
churches were members, adopt and support an inde- 
pendent missionary, in addition to what we were doing 
through the regular channels. At Spring Hill at the 
meeting of the West Kentucky Association in October, 

1894, the first definite action was taken towards 
Gospel Missions in Kentucky. 

In October, 1918, the author wrote to Dr. Don 
Singletary, of Clinton, Kentucky, the moderator of 
the West Kentucky Association, to know if he could 
furnish minutes of the association, or information as 



134 Kentucky Baptist History — 1770-1922 

to the first committee appointed, consisting of Hall, 
Bogard and Nowlin, to employ and look after the 
support of an independent foreign missionary. On 
October 26, 1918, the author received the following 
letter from Doctor Singletary: "My /Dear Doctor 
Nowlin, your letter of inquiry came in due time, and 
I am glad to be able to produce you some information. 
I have attended every association of west Kentucky, 
and have the minutes of every meeting. The time 
was October 9 and 10, 1895, at Liberty Church. J. F. 
Cargill, of Macon, Georgia, was present and preached. 
J. N. Hall had invited him and tried hard to get us 
to employ him. Hall read a report of Gospel Missions 
and it was discussed freely, amended, and the next 
morning the 10th, the whole thing was tabled as shown 
in the minutes, but that report is not in the minutes 
because it was tabled. Nor is the committee of Hall, 
Bogard and Nowlin mentioned ; neither is Hall 's offer 
to be one of one hundred to pay $5.00 each year for 
an independent missionary. Yet I am sure the latter 
was made and discussed. (I am sure of it, too, for 
I agreed to be one of the one hundred — Nowlin.) In 
these discussions my memory is, that the Gospel Mis- 
sion plan was not in any way to interfere with, or to 
lessen, our board work ; and that Gospel Missions and 
money designated to it were to have a place in our 
minutes hereafter. 

1 ' The next year at Arlington W. H. Williams read 
the Gospel Mission report, and it is printed. I will 
quote some of the points. 'One of the oldest mis- 
sionaries in China, T. P. Crawford, is laboring under 
this plan.' ' There need f be no friction between the 
two plans. ' ' Churches have a right to designate their 
funds.' 'On this plan we now have twenty mission- 
aries in the foreign field. ' On this arrangement I 
contributed to both plans, and increased my giving 
and my increase went to Gospel Missions. 

"In 1904 at Columbus, T. A. Cross in Gospel Mis- 
sion report says: 'We have about twenty-seven mis- 
sionaries in the foreign fields, ' naming ' China, Peru, 



The Gospel Mission Deflection — 1894 135 

Mexico, Cuba, and Syria. ' In 1917 this same brother, 
T. A. Cross, in Gospel Mission report, says: 'T. L. 
Blalock, Tai An Fu Shantung, China, is our only 
real active worker on the foreign field.' They have 
lost ground rapidly and done much harm to our cause 
in West Kentucky Association. About three-fourths 
of our churches claim Gospel Mission plan and do 
almost nothing." Signed, Don Singletary. 

The author then wrote Doctor Singletary to look 
in the minutes of 1894 and he would find the appoint- 
ment of the committee. On November 1, 1918, Doctor 
Singletary replies as follows : ' ' Dear Doctor Nowlin : 
As to Gospel Missions, you are right. The previous 
year at Spring Hill Church, October 10, 11, 12, 1894, 
Ben M. Bogard read the report on foreign missions 
in which he said, * There are two plans — convention 
plan — the other Gospel Missions which is led by T. P. 
Crawford, G. P. Bostic, D. W. Herring and others.' 
Further he asks that ' Our association takes a decided 
advance step' and recommended that 'This associa- 
tion employ a missionary as soon as arrangements can 
be made; and this, too, in addition to the work we 
already have on hand.' A committee was appointed 
for this new plan, consisting of 'Ben M. Bogard, 
W. D. Nowlin, J. N. Hall,' 'to look after the employ- 
ment and support of a foreign missionary' on Gospel 
Mission plan mentioned in report. This covers every 
point you ask for, I think. I quote the points in 
Bogard 's report as printed that cover the beginning, 
but I skip many sentences not to the point. ' ' Signed, 
Don Singletary. 

It will be seen from the foregoing facts that 
"Gospel Missions" was considered the first time in 
a Baptist association in Kentucky in October, 1894, 
and that the author of this history was a member of 
the first committee ever appointed by a Baptist body 
in Kentucky to select and look after the support of a 
gospel missionary; and yet the author has, all the 
while, been lined up with our organized work. The 
other members of the committee, Bogard and Hall, 



136 Kentucky Baptist History— 1770-1922 

were also lined up with the organized work at this 
time. Bogard was pastor of the Fulton Baptist 
Church, a church in line with our organized work. 
J. N. Hall was a member of, and a liberal contributor 
to, this church and its work, including missions. 
These facts show that " Gospel Missions" did not 
mean then what the term means now. 

What Has It Accomplished? 

The Baptist Flag of Fulton, Kentucky, is the 
exponent of this cult, so I shall let it speak. 

Here is their Missionary Directory as published 
July 29, 1920, in the Flag: 

Mission Directoey 
foreign missions 
Eld. T. L. Blalock, Helton, N. C. 
At present no one on China field, but will sail 
with helpers the coming summer.* 

HOME MISSIONS 

H. A. Eoshto, Pineville, La. 
H. D. Clift, Maury City, Tenn. 
S. W. Joyner, Hollow Rock, Tenn. 
C. B. Massey, Pleasant Shade, Tenn. 
Calvin Gregory, Pleasant Shade, Tenn. 
A. G. Stinson, Pleasant Shade, Tenn. 

GENERAL MISSIONARIES 

T. F. Moore, Fulton, Ky. 

J. N. Joyner, Westport, Tenn. 

ORPHANAGE 

Mrs. Jennie Lamas, Mariel, Cuba. 

Treasurer 
T. A. Cross, Bardwell, Ky. 

" Those wanting to send direct to the missionary 
can do so, as it is your privilege, but our treasurer, 



* Note — Later the Flag reported that T. L. Blalock had 
returned with helpers. 



The Gospel Mission Deflection — 1894 137 

T. A. Cross, sends every cent as directed, and is not 
a toll station to toll your funds. We donate to him 
during the year, and all should help." It will be 
observed that all are urged to help pay the treasurer, 
T. A. Cross. 

The above shows that they have but one foreign 
missionary and he is not on the foreign field at this 
writing. "Home Missionaries" are men who have 
simply the "recommendation" of the Gospel Mission 
Association without salary. 

The following from J. A. Scarboro, one of their 
leaders, taken from the Flag of November 25, 1915, 
shows in what sense they are missionaries. Elder 
Scarboro says: 

"I am on a little farm in the piney woods of 

Georgia Stripped of everything I possessed 

and compelled to sell books and furniture to get here, 

we came last spring and have farmed this year 

All of us have labored in the field, including my 

devoted wife and little children I never spent 

a year in my life with a heavier burden on my 
heart I was compelled to do so. At the Gen- 
eral Association I was 'recommended as a missionary 
to cut his own hay as he went.' Anybody can be a 

missionary on that basis I could have done 

state mission work, or editorial work, or any sort of 
work, but nobody seemed to want me, or if they did, 
they did not say so. And so I left because I had to. 
And so I have spent the year, much of it in the cotton 

field We have a few Landmark Baptists with 

much means, and the few we have are scared half to 
death if they think they will lose a hundred dollars. 
It is pitiful and sickening to a man who sees oppor- 
tunities and wants to do something Letters 

continue to pour in, asking me to go here and there 
all over the South, and seven out of ten of them say 
little or nothing about expenses. God pity our people 
and our cause. Why ask men to perform impossi- 
bilities? If I were called upon to prescribe for the 
Landmarkers, I would say, Get religion enough to 



138 Kentucky Baptist History— -1770-1922 

support the workers. I have read appeals and begging 
for funds to support a few missionaries among them 
until my very soul is sick of it. I will never beg 
another Landmarker to do anything for me or any- 
body else. To urge a man to go out as a missionary 
and then advertise him as ready to starve for want 
of a pittance out of our abundance to support him is 
scandalous. Self-respecting men have no respect for 
a people who will do that sort of a thing. We have 
a faithful few among us, but there is an army of 
people who call themselves Landmarkers who are not 
worth two beans in any cause. They sadden and 
sicken the heart to contemplate them. Brethren, let 's 
do mission work, or take that label off our name and 
just say we do not believe in missions. Let's be 
truthful. " 

This wail of the strongest man among the kickers 
against God's mission work, as the Baptist churches 
are doing it through their organized channels, 
reiterates what has often been said, that the objections 
to conventions and boards — with few exceptions — are 
hypocritical excuses for doing nothing. Scarboro cer- 
tainly tells the truth — turns ' ' state 's evidence. ' ' 

This movement is led by a bunch of disgruntled 
would-be leaders, who kick the leaders and lead the 
kickers. 

Thus it will be seen that the ' ' General Association 
of Landmark Gospel Mission Baptists of the United 
States of America" has one paid missionary. The 
others only have the endorsement or "recommenda- 
tion of the General Association to cut his own hay as 
he goes." And Scarboro adds, "Anybody can be a 
missionary on that basis. " So he can. 

The following from a Flag editorial February 5, 
1920, is in harmony with the above. "Perhaps not 
one church in all our fields is able or willing to try 
it alone in sending a missionary either into the home 
or the foreign field. Why not unite our forces and 
funds and keep alive one or two in both fields ? ' ' The 
editorial only suggests trying to "keep alive one or 



The Gospel Mission Deflection — 1894 139 

two (missionaries) on both fields." It doesn't sug- 
gest anything more than "keeping alive one or two" 
missionaries and this clearly implies that they are 
not now doing that. 

T. A. Cross, in his report to the West Kentucky 
Association, 1904, says, "We have about twenty-seven 
missionaries in the foreign fields. ' ' In 1917 this same 
brother, Cross, in his report on Gospel Missions to 
the West Kentucky Association, says, ' ' T. L. Blalock, 
China, is our only real active worker on the foreign 
field. " In a little more than a dozen years they have 
gone from twenty-seven foreign missionaries to one, 
according to their own report. 

This is due to the fact that in the beginning the 
Gospel Missioners did not fight the organized work of 
the Southern Baptist Convention, but claimed that 
their work was "in addition to the organized work," 
and in this way they had the help of many loyal 
Baptists such as Doctor Singletary and this writer, 
who contributed to this cause to encourage many who 
were doing practically nothing for missions ; but when 
they began to draw the lines and fight the organized 
work and vilify the Southern Baptist Convention 
these withdrew their support and you see how they 
dropped from twenty-seven foreign missionaries to 
one. That is the progress they have made. 

They have also made progress in their position on 
missions. In the first report on this work, October, 
1894, made by Ben M. Bogard, he says "there are two 
plans — convention plan and gospel mission plan." 
In 1896 W. H. Williams says, "There need be no fric- 
tion between the two plans." 

At the time J. N. Hall urged the appointment of 
an independent missionary by the West Kentucky 
Association he was contributing to the regular or- 
ganized work through the Fulton Baptist Church, and 
for many years after was a member of the Southern 
Baptist Convention. Minutes of the Southern Baptist 
Convention for 1902 (p. 4) show " J. N. Hall, Fulton, 
Kentucky," a registered messenger on the financial 



140 Kentucky Baptist History — 1770-1922 

basis. He was a member of the General Association 
of Baptists in Kentucky when he died. They have 
now reached the point where, instead of saying ' ' there 
are two plans ' ' and ' ' there need be no friction between 
the two plans ' ' they say * ' conventionism is one of the 
greatest grafting machines ever known among the 
masses," and "an unbaptistic robbing machine." 
They also say "all who are affiliated with convention- 
ism" are guilty of "lying," "stealing," "robbing," 
"embezzlement," "deceiving," "murdering," etc. 
The attacks made by the Gospel Missioners on the 
Baptists are far more vicious and bitter than those 
made by the Hardshells nearly a century ago, and of 
which history gives account. 

The Gospel Missioners, so far as the author knows, 
have no organization in Kentucky. They have an 
association called "Kentucky-Tennessee Association," 
which is composed of a small following in a few west 
Kentucky churches and a few in Tennessee. The 
minutes of this association for September 15 and 16, 
1920 (pp. 1 and 2), show twenty-seven churches rep- 
resented by messengers, but a note by the clerk just 
following the list says, "Not all the above named 
messengers were present," so we do not know how 
many churches were really represented by messengers 
in this meeting. 

Their general organization is "The General Asso- 
ciation of Gospel Mission Landmark Baptists of the 
United States of America," with headquarters at 
Texarkana, Ark.-Tex. They have made several 
changes in their title within the last few years. 
Minutes of the meeting of December 7 to 10, 1920, 
held with Nebo church, Bay Springs, Miss., says: 
1 ' The messengers of the churches composing the Bap- 
tist General Association of the United States." At 
this same meeting, as recorded on page 5, the word 
"Missionary" was added to their title. We notice 
that the words "Gospel Missioners" and "Land- 
markers," made so prominent in their beginning, are 
entirely eliminated from their minutes of 1920. They 



The Gospel Mission Deflection — 1894 141 

object to conventions, and so have an association 
claiming more territory than any Baptist convention 
in America. They object to a mission board, and so 
have a " Mission Committee " performing all the 
functions of a board. They decline to have a corre- 
sponding secretary, but have a " Mission Treasurer" 
to perform the duties of a corresponding secretary. 
They criticize the salary paid by the convention to 
their foreign mission corresponding secretary, and 
yet they pay their mission treasurer far more in pro- 
portion to the business done — the money handled and 
missionaries supported — than the convention pays. 
They claim that there is no scriptural authority for 
a "Southern Baptist Convention," but that there is 
scriptural authority for a "General Association of 
Missionary Baptist Churches of America." It is not 
the author's business to try to explain the inconsis- 
tencies of these claims, but to state them. The spirit 
that dominates Gospel Missions is not the spirit that 
sends out missionaries and supports them. 



CHAPTER XIII 

The Whitsitt Controversy — 1896* 

What is known as "The Whitsitt Controversy" 
began in the spring of 1896. Doctor Whitsitt wrote 
an article on the Baptists for Johnson's Encyclopedia, 
in which he set forth his theory that the English Bap- 
tists did not begin to baptize by immersion until 1641, 
when a part of the Anabaptists, as they were then 
called, began immersion. Doctor Whitsitt in this 
article used language which many Baptists interpreted 
to mean that immersion as a Christian ordinance was 
started at that time. It is but fair to Doctor Whitsitt, 
however, to say that he in the introduction to his book 
"A Question in Baptist History," a book called out 
by the controversy, says : ' ' Immersion as a religious 
rite was practiced by John the Baptist about the year 
30 of our era, and was solemnly enjoined by our 
Saviour upon all his ministers to the end of time. No 
other observance was in use for baptism in New Testa- 
ment times. The practice, though some times greatly 
perverted, has yet been continued from the apostolic 
age down to our own. As I understand the scriptures, 
immersion is essential to Christian baptism.' ' 



* The author furnished copies of this chapter, exactly as 
it stands, to three of our leading preachers and scholars who 
saw the "Whitsitt controversy" from different viewpoints, ask- 
ing that they read it carefully, make any suggestions, correc- 
tions or additions that they thought should be made. Following 
is the result: 

Beply of the Rev. W. J. McGlothlin, D. D., Ph.D. 

Hattiesburg, Miss., July 28, 1921. 
Dear Dr. Nowlin : 

Without access to the sources it is of course impossible for 
me to pass on the accuracy of your statements. As far as I 
know you have stated the facts as they occurred. While a 

142 



The Whitsitt Controversy — 1896 143 

Here is an extract from the encyclopedia article: 
1 ' The earliest organized Baptist Church belongs to the 

year 1610 or 1611 Ezekiel Holliman baptized 

Williams and the rest of his company. The ceremony 
was most likely performed by sprinkling ; the Baptists 
of England had not adopted immersion, and there is 
no reason which renders it probable that Williams 
was in advance of them." Doctor Henry M. King 
of Rhode Island pointed out this as an attack on 
the Baptists, and criticized rather sharply Doctor 
Whitsitt 's position. Next Dr. J. H. Spencer, the 
Kentucky Baptist historian, wrote an article which 
appeared in the Western Recorder in which he 
strongly dissented from Doctor Whitsitt 's position. 
Dr. T. T. Eaton, editor of the Western Recorder, was 
at this time in Europe, but Mrs. Joe Eaton Peck, 
who had charge of the paper in the absence of her 
brother, took up the matter in the Recorder and most 
vigorously assailed Doctor Whitsitt 's position, main- 
taining that the Baptists, under different names, had 
had a continuous history, and a uniform practice on 
baptism, from the beginning of the Christian era. 

After the return of Doctor Eaton he took up the 
controversy and became the leader of the opposition 
to Doctor Whitsitt 's position. The friends of Doctor 
Whitsitt (known in the controversy as "Whit- 
sittites") started and used the Baptist Argus as 
an organ of propaganda and defense, while the "Anti- 
Whitsittites, " as they were called, used the Western 
Recorder for the same purpose. This, of course, made 
the controversy all the more bitter and personal in 

reader could probably determine where your sympathies lie, 

still it seems to me that you are fair and show a good spirit. 

Cordially yours, 

W. J. McGlothlin. 
Eeply of the Bev. J. T. Christian, D. D., LL.D. 

Collins, Miss., July 30, 1921. 
Dear Brother Nowlin: 

Your favor was forwarded to me here. I have read the 
chapter. I do not know the setting of this chapter — what you 



144 Kentucky Baptist History— 1770-1922 

Kentucky. The disputation waxed hot and was 
carried into churches, district associations, state con- 
ventions and finally into the Southern Baptist Con- 
vention. 

Dr. H. M. Dexter maintained that the idea was not 
new and pointed out that he had held substantially 
this position earlier than Doctor Whitsitt. In order 
to establish priority in this matter Doctor Whitsitt 
claimed some anonymous editorials which appeared in 
the New York Independent in 1880 as his work. 

Dr. John T. Christian, who had already gotten 
into the controversy, began to study the files of the 
Independent and found other editorials in which this 
position was set forth and in which the Baptists were 
attacked very vigorously. 

From internal evidence Doctor Christian decided 
that Doctor Whitsitt had written all of these editorials 
and so charged publicly. Doctor Whitsitt acknowl- 
edged the authorship of some of the editorials, but 
denied the others. There was sufficient material, how- 
ever, in those which he acknowledged to create in the 
minds of Baptists the most unfavorable impression. 
At this point Dr. B. H. Carroll of Texas wrote an 
article in which he set forth the fact that when Doctor 
Whitsitt acknowledged that he wrote a part of a 
series of editorials attacking the Baptists he admitted 
his guilt of the whole, pointing out the fact that in 
law a man who helps to plan or execute a murder — 
has any part in it — is guilty of the whole — particeps 
criminis. 

may have written in regard to the parties concerned in other 
parts of your work. I might not have said it just as you 
have, but I do not care to add anything. 
Yours fraternally, 

John T. Christian. 

Reply of the Eev. W. W. Landrum, D. D., LL.D. 
I have been impressed with the clearness and directness of 
your statements. So far as I recall the facts you have stated 
them fairly and impartially as they occurred. 

W. W. Landrum. 



The Whitsitt Controversy— 1896 145 

We give here some extracts from the Independent 
editorials without expressing any opinion, as it is the 
business of the historian to give facts and not opinions. 
From the Independent, New York, September 2, 1880 : 
"The Congregationalist speaks of the well-known 
immersion of Roger Williams by the unimmersed 
Ezekiel Holliman. To be sure all the Baptists of 
America so assume, but the editor of the Congrega- 
tionalist is more accurately acquainted with the 
origins of Baptist history than any of the Baptists 
themselves, and we expected that its statements would 
be more accurate. As we understand it, Roger Wil- 
liams never was a Baptist in the modern sense — that 
is, never was immersed, and the ceremony referred to 
was anabaptism, rebaptism by sprinkling, and not 
' Catbaptism, ' or baptism by immersion. The baptism 
of Roger Williams is affirmed by Governor Winthrop 
to have taken place in March, 1639. This, however, 
was at least two years prior to the introduction of the 
practice of immersion among the Baptists. Up to the 
year 1641 all Baptists employed sprinkling and pour- 
ing as the mode of baptism We are inclined to 

believe that no case of immersion took place among 
the American Baptists before the year 1644. It seems 
likely that Roger Williams, on his return from Eng- 
land in that year, brought the first reliable news con- 
cerning the change which had taken place in the prac- 
tice of the English Baptists, three years before, and 
that it was then that the American Baptists first 
resolved to accept the innovation. ' ' 

This editorial was followed by another September 
9, 1880, from which we quote the following : * ' It was 
not until the year 1644, three years after the inven- 
tion of immersion, that any Baptist confession pre- 
scribes ' dipping or plunging the body in water as the 
way and manner of dispensing the ordinance 7 (Lon- 
don Confession of 1644, Article 40) Happily 

for us, however, the above assertion is confirmed by 
the authority of Edward Barber, the founder of the 
rite of immersion among the Baptists.' ' 

10 



146 Kentucky Baptist History— 1770-1922 

Doctor Whitsitt wrote three or more articles in 
which he defended his claim that "1641" was the 
date of "the invention of immersion/ ' One in the 
Examiner, April 23, 1896, one in the Religious 
Herald, May 7, 1896, and in his book "A Question in 
Baptist History," published September, 1896. In the 
Examiner article, April 23, 1896, he says: "Dur- 
ing the autumn of 1877, shortly after I had been put 
in charge of the school of Church History at the 
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, in preparing 
my lectures on Baptist History, I made the discovery 
that, prior to the year 1641 our Baptist people in 
England were in the practice of sprinkling and pour- 
ing for baptism. I kept it to myself until the year 

1880, when I had the happiness to spend my summer 
vacation at the British Museum. There I assured 
myself, largely by researches among the King George 's 
pamphlets, that my discovery was genuine, and estab- 
lished it by many irrefragable proofs from contem- 
porary documents. ' ' Then in this same article Doctor 
Whitsitt refers to Doctor Dexter 's claim to priority 
on this question in the following language: "Ap- 
parently Doctor Dexter was interested by my explana- 
tions and proofs, for he shortly found his way to the 
British Museum where he also convinced himself that 
my view was correct and my citations authentic. As 
a fruit of these researches he issued, near the close of 

1881, more than twelve months after my discovery 
had been declared in the Independent, the well-known 
volume entitled 'John Smyth the Se-Baptist' wherein 
he adopted my thesis, defended it by many citations, 
and entirely ignored my discovery as set forth in the 
Independent This discovery is my own con- 
tribution to Baptist History, and when my brethren 
heap reproaches upon me it is nothing but right that 
I should defend my property." 

A few months later Doctor Whitsitt 's book, "A 
Question in Baptist History," came off the press, 
from which I take the following (p. 133) : "In view 
of the foregoing body of materials, I candidly con- 



The Whitsitt Controversy— 1896 147 

sider that my proofs are sufficient. This question has 
been confirmed and strengthened by the renewed in- 
vestigation which I have lately undertaken in order 
to set forth these proofs. Whatever else may be true 
in history, I believe it is beyond question that the 
practice of adult immersion was introduced anew into 
England in the year 1641." 

The Baptists of the South very naturally asked the 
question, "Why should a Baptist holding the position 
which Doctor Whitsitt holds anonymously attack the 
Baptist denomination V ' Doctor Whitsitt 's explana- 
tion was that he "wrote from a Pedobaptist stand- 
point in order to provoke discussion and compel the 
Baptists to study their own history." This explana- 
tion might have stopped the controversy had not 
Doctor Whitsitt written a number of articles and a 
book, all written from a Baptist standpoint, to prove 
his Independent editorials which "were written from 
a Pedobaptist standpoint." It was this that stirred 
the Baptists to the depths, and not Doctor Whitsitt 's 
"writing from a Pedobaptist standpoint." 

The controversy spread through the entire South, 
and even into the North, until it was finally taken up 
by the Southern Baptist Convention. The board of 
trustees of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary 
took the following action at Wilmington, N. C, during 
the sitting of the Southern Baptist Convention, and 
which action was reported to the convention and 
recorded in its minutes. 

The Wilmington Action 

The following is an exact copy from the minutes : 
A communication from the Board of Trustees of the 
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary was presented 
as information by W. E. Hatcher, Virginia. Where- 
upon it was ordered that the communication be 
printed in the minutes of the convention. The trustees 
of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 
assembled in their annual meeting at Wilmington, 
N. C, May 6, 1897, desire to submit to the Baptists 



148 Kentucky Baptist History — 1770-1922 

of the South the following statement in regard to the 
institution whose interests have been committed to 
their care and management. 

1. That we account this a fitting occasion to re- 
affirm our cordial and thorough adherence to the 
fundamental articles adopted at the time when the 
seminary was established, and to assure those on 
whose behalf we hold in trust and administer the 
affairs of this institution of our steadfast purpose 
to require hereafter, as we have in the past, that the 
fundamental laws and scriptural doctrines embodied 
in those articles shall be faithfully upheld by those 
occupying chairs as teachers. 

2. That we cannot undertake to sit in judgment 
on questions in Baptist history which do not imperil 
any of these principles, concerning which all Baptists 
are agreed, but concerning which serious, conscien- 
tious and scholarly students are not agreed. We can, 
however, confidently leave to continued research 
and discussion the satisfactory solution of these 
questions. 

3. That believing the seminary to hold an impor- 
tant relation to the prosperity and usefulness of 
southern Baptists, we consider it our duty, while 
demanding of those in charge of the departments of 
instruction the utmost patience in research and the 
greatest discretion in utterance, to foster rather than 
repress the spirit of earnest, reverent investigation. 

4. That being fully assured that the tender affec- 
tion which we cherish for this institution, founded by 
our fathers and bequeathed by them to us, is shared 
by the Baptists of the South, we can safely trust them 
as we ask them to trust us, to guard its honor, pro- 
mote its usefulness and pray for its prosperity. 

Upon the adoption of the foregoing statement, the 
trustees appointed a committee to notify Doctor 
Whitsitt of this action, and to invite him to meet them 
and to make any voluntary statement he might desire. 
Whereupon Doctor Whitsitt appeared before the 
board and read the following paper : 



The Whitsitt Controversy— 1896 149 

Wilmington, N. C, May 7, 1897. 
To the Board of Trustees of the Southern Baptist 
Theological Seminary: 

Dear Brethren: — I beg leave to return sincerest 
and heartiest thanks for the noble and generous treat- 
ment that you have bestowed upon me. I have only 
words of affection for every member of the board. 
After consulting with the committee I have the fol- 
lowing to say: 

1. That in regard to the articles written as edi- 
torials for the Independent, I have long felt that it 
was a mistake, and the generous action of the Board 
of Trustees renders it easy for me to make this state- 
ment. What I wrote was from a Pedobaptist stand- 
point with a view to stimulating historical research, 
with no thought that it would injure the Baptists, 
and with no intention to disparage Baptist doctrines 
or practices. 

2. That the article in Johnson's Encyclopedia 
has probably passed beyond my control; but it will 
be very pleasing to me if I can honorably procure the 
elimination from it of whatsoever is offensive to any 
of my brethren. 

3. Regarding the charge that I expressed a con- 
viction that a kinswoman of mine ought to follow her 
husband into a Pedobaptist church, that it was never 
my intention to indicate a belief that the family out- 
ranked the Church of God. I believe that obedience 
to God's commands is above every other human duty, 
and that people in every relation of life ought to 
obey God rather than man. 

4. That on the historical questions involved in the 
discussion, I find myself out of agreement with some 
honored historians; but what I have written is the 
outcome of patient and honest research, and I can do 
no otherwise than to reaffirm my convictions and 
maintain my position. But if in the future it shall 
ever be made to appear that I have erred in my 
conclusions, I would promptly and cheerfully say so. 



150 Kentucky Baptist History — 1770-1922 

I am a searcher after truth, and will gladly hail every 
helper in my work. 

5. That I cannot more strongly assure the 
brethren that I am a Baptist than by what I have 
recently declared with regard to the abstract of prin- 
ciples set forth in the Fundamental Laws of the 
seminary. I am heartily in accord with my Baptist 
brethren in every distinctive principle that they hold. 
My heart and life are bound up with the Baptists, 
and I have no higher thought on earth than to spend 
my days in their fellowship and service, in the name 
of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Eespectfully submitted, 

Wm. H. Whitsitt. 

At the conclusion of the reading of the foregoing 
paper the trustees joined in singing: 

"How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord, 
Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word," 

during which, amid flowing tears and many expres- 
sions of satisfaction and joy, the members of the board 
pressed forward and gave Doctor Whitsitt the hand 
of fellowship and confidence. The trustees then in- 
structed B. H. Carroll of Texas and W. E. Hatcher 
of Virginia to communicate to the Southern Baptist 
Convention this action, and also to give it to the pub- 
lic press. Please bear in mind that this statement is 
made to the convention for information and not for 
action. 

(Taken from Proceedings of the Southern Baptist 
Convention, 1897, pages 14-16.) 

Dr. B. H. Carroll, Texas, not only refused to 
accept the Wilmington action, but started the con- 
troversy afresh. The result of the renewed contro- 
versy was that the opposition to Doctor Whitsitt was 
greatly augmented and that state conventions began 
taking action calling for the removal of Doctor Whit- 
sitt from the Theological Seminary. However, we 



The Whitsitt Controversy — 1896 151 

are only concerned here in so far as the matter touches 
Kentucky Baptist history. 

In June following the Wilmington meeting, which 
was in May, the General Association of Baptists in 
Kentucky met in Georgetown, during the session of 
which the following action was taken: 

The Georgetown Action 

The resolution of J. A. Booth, special order for 
this hour, is as follows : 

Whereas, Dr. W. H. Whitsitt, President of the 
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, reaffirms his 
belief in his discovery and will continue to teach it; 
and, 

Whereas, His course has been such as to place him 
out of touch and harmony with the denomination ; 

Resolved, That the trustees of the seminary from 
Kentucky be requested, and they are hereby requested, 
to urge, insist upon and vote for the retirement of 
Doctor Whitsitt from the presidency of the institu- 
tion and from the chair of Church History. 

The above resolution was voted on by yeas and 
nays. The yeas were 105, the nays 78, both of which 
are recorded below: 

(Taken from minutes of General Association of 
Baptists of Kentucky, 1897, page 29.) 

When the Booth resolution was called up for 
action in the Georgetown meeting the ''Previous 
Question ' ' was called for and sustained, so the resolu- 
tion was voted on without discussion. Just following 
the Georgetown meeting, Dr. Carter Helm Jones pub- 
lished a statement in the Courier Journal referring to 
the above action as the ''Gag-law" practice, and set- 
ting forth the claim that if the friends of Doctor 
Whitsitt had only had an opportunity to discuss the 
matter, the action of the General Association would 
have been very different. So the next year at Hop- 
kinsville it was decided that the matter should be 
thoroughly discussed before the vote was taken. 



152 Kentucky Baptist History— 1770-1922 

The Hopkinsville Action 

J. S. Coleman read the following preamble and 
resolutions : 

Whereas, The trustees of the Southern Baptist 
Theological Seminary at their recent session in Nor- 
folk, Va., adopted a resolution by which they decided 
to retain Dr. William H. Whitsitt as President of the 
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and professor 
of Church History; and, 

Whereas, By their said resolutions the trustees 
waived aside the known and officially expressed con- 
victions and wishes of a great number of Baptist 
bodies, among these bodies being the General Associa- 
tion of Kentucky; and, by reaffirming that former 
action which produced the expression of these con- 
victions and wishes, declined to give them due con- 
sideration; and, 

Whereas, Our conviction that Doctor Whitsitt is 
unfit for his present position has been strengthened 
by the events of the last year. Now, therefore, 

Resolved, (1) That the Southern Baptist Theo- 
logical Seminary shall not be allowed to make any 
report nor present any appeals of any sort whatever 
to this body so long as Doctor Whitsitt shall be in 
any manner connected with the institution. 

(2) That if Doctor Whitsitt 's connection with the 
seminary has not ceased at the time of the next ses- 
sion of the Southern Baptist Convention, we urge that 
body to adopt, as the only means of preserving its 
unity, the resolutions proposed by Dr. B. H. Carroll, 
of Texas, whereby the convention shall dissolve the 
bond of connection between that body and the 
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. (Notice was 
given by Doctor Carroll at the Norfolk convention 
that he would offer a resolution at the next convention 
to "dissolve the relationship between this body and 
the seminary," which resolution is published in full 
on pages 22 and 23 of the Southern Baptist Conven- 
tion minutes for 1898.) 



The Whitsitt Controversy — 1896 153 

(3) That the clerk of this association be instructed 
to forward a copy of these resolutions, duly signed 
and certified by himself and the moderator, to the 
Hon. Joshua Levering, chairman of the Board of 
Trustees of the Southern Baptist Theological Semi- 
nary, with the request that they be laid before the 
trustees at their next meeting. 

(4) That a committee of five be appointed by the 
moderator to present these resolutions to the Southern 
Baptist Convention at its next session. 

After remarks by J. S. Coleman and others the 
following motion prevailed: 

"That the above resolutions be made the special 
order for 2 o'clock; that the vote be taken not later 
than 5 o'clock, and that the time be divided as fol- 
lows: those favoring the resolution to open with one 
hour, those opposing the resolution then to have an 
hour and a half, and those favoring to close with a 
half hour." 

The above resolution was voted on by yeas and 
nays. The yeas were 198, the nays 26, both of which 
are recorded below: 

(Taken from minutes of General Association of 
Baptists of Kentucky, 1898, pages 9, 10, 11.) 

(These votes with the names are recorded in the 
minutes of the General Association of Baptists in 
Kentucky.) 

The two votes recorded above show how the senti- 
ment in Kentucky was changing toward Doctor Whit- 
sitt and his position. 

The action of Kentucky Baptists was such as to 
cause both Doctor Whitsitt and his friends to feel 
that his resignation was absolutely essential to the 
welfare of the seminary. Accordingly the resigna- 
tion was wired by Doctor Whitsitt (as we understand 
from Hopkinsville where the General Association was 
in session) to Joshua Levering, Baltimore, chairman 
of the Board of Trustees of the seminary. The resig- 
nation was duly accepted and Doctor Whitsitt retired 
from all connection with the seminary. 



154 Kentucky Baptist History — 1770-1922 

Thus ended the unfortunate incident, so far as 
Doctor Whitsitt personally was concerned, but the 
feeling engendered by the controversy did not so soon 
pass away. Friends who were alienated by the con- 
flict did not soon forget the animosities that were 
aroused in the heat of discussion; but the grace of 
God and time heal the worst of troubles. 

The principal actors in this great controversy, 
which stirred the Baptists of the South to their 
depths, Dr. W. H. Whitsitt and Dr. T. T. Eaton, have 
both passed to their rewards more than a decade ago. 
Green be the graves where sleep the heroes of faith ; 
forgotten be the animosities and heart burnings of 
strife ; sacred be the trust committed to our memories 
and bright the vision of coming ages. 



CHAPTER XIV 

The Unification Program and Great Forward 
Movement — 1919 

From the beginning of the "Whitsitt Contro- 
versy" (or shortly thereafter) to the year 1919, Ken- 
tucky had two Baptist papers — The Western Recorder 
and the Baptist Argus (later The Baptist World). 
The very fact that these two papers had been con- 
sidered the organs of the ' ' Anti-Whitsittites " and 
11 Whitsittites " respectively served to perpetuate, at 
least in the minds of the people, the division. The 
Baptists of Kentucky, however, trying to get away 
from the old controversy and unite their forces in the 
state for a great forward movement, decided that the 
first step necessary to this much desired end was 
the consolidation of the two papers. 

The Two Papers Consolidated 

The following is the history of the transaction, as 
recorded in the minutes of the State Board of Mis- 
sions : 

Called meeting of the State Board of Missions at 
Broadway Church, Louisville, Ky., July 23, 1919. 

Secretary 0. E. Bryan presented the following 
resolutions : 

Whereas, The Executive Committee of the South- 
ern Baptist Convention has requested a special cam- 
paign in the territory of the Southern Baptist 
Convention to place the denominational state papers 
in all of our Baptist homes as a method of publicity 
during the Seventy-five Million Campaign; and 

Whereas, Kentucky Baptists have two outstanding 
denominational papers, the Western Recorder and the 
Baptist World; and 

Whereas, The relation between these papers seems 
155 



156 Kentucky Baptist History — 1770-1922 

to forbid the most effective statewide simultaneous 
campaign in keeping with the request of the repre- 
sentatives of the Southern Baptist Convention; and 

Whereas, Kentucky Baptists keenly desire to co- 
operate with the Southern Baptist Convention in the 
simultaneous drive for the papers, therefore, be it 

Resolved, (1) That the Baptist State Board of 
Missions in Kentucky endeavor to purchase the Bap- 
tist papers of the state affiliated with our organized 
work, and operate them under the direct control of 
State Board Missions. 

Resolved, (2) That it is the purpose of the State 
Board to have one great denominational paper. 

Resolved, (3) That a committee of five be ap- 
pointed by the chairman with authority to consum- 
mate the financial transactions incident to the 
establishment of a single state paper subject to the 
ratification of the executive board. 

Resolved, (4) That we instruct this committee to 
make no concession in this transaction that would em- 
barrass the state board in naming the combined paper 
or in electing an editor for the same. 

Resolved, (5) That we instruct this committee in 
co-operating with the corresponding Secretary to close 
up the deals as early as possible, provided the man- 
agers of these papers are willing to sell. 

Resolved, (6) That this committee be instructed 
that if there be any disagreement as to the value of 
the properties under their consideration, that disin- 
terested business men be requested to appraise the 
same and that said appraisement shall be the basis for 
the consummation of the transaction. 

Resolved, (7) That we express our good will 
toward all of these papers and hereby earnestly re- 
quest their management to give due consideration to 
this proposition which we believe will be for the best 
interests of Kentucky Baptists and for the glory of 
God. 

Wm. D. Nowlin, one of the editors of the Western 
Recorder, moved the adoption of these resolutions, 
and the vote was unanimous. 



Program and Great Forward Movement — 1919 157 

The committee for establishment of paper was com- 
posed of the following brethren : O. E. Bryan, W. M. 
Stallings, W. W. Landrum, H. S. Summers and B. H. 
Lovelace. 

Meeting of Board, August 10, 1919 

Report of the Committee 

Your committee, according to instruction, opened 
negotiations with the Western Recorder and the Bap- 
tist World with a view to their purchase by the State 
Board of Missions. After several conferences with 
representatives of both papers, they called meetings 
of their directors and submitted the following proposi- 
tion: 

FIRST, We the directors of the Baptist Book 
Concern and publishers of the Western Recorder of 
Louisville, Kentucky, hereby offer to the Baptist State 
Board of Missions of Kentucky the Western Recorder 
and its entire subscription list consisting of 10,000 
subscribers, more or less; the advertising contracts 
for said paper, for the sum of $20,000. It is hereby 
understood and agreed to by both parties to this con- 
tract that the name of the paper shall be unchanged 
and shall continue to be known as "Western 
Recorder. ' ' 

(Signed) J. W. Porter, Chairman of Board, 
F. H. Goodridge, E. C. Farmer. 

SECOND : The Baptist World Publishing Com- 
pany desires to make this substitute offer to your com- 
mittee in lieu of the offer made your committee on 
July 29, 1919. 

"We will sell the paper and printing department, 
which would include the subscription list and amounts 
due on unpaid subscriptions to the Baptist World, 
together with the linotype, printing presses and all 
other machinery and appliances used in the printing 
department, together with the stock of paper on hand 
for the sum of $15,000. 

(Signed) Baptist World Pub. Co., 

By Boyce Watkins, President. ' ' 



158 Kentucky Baptist History— 1770-1922 

The committee communicated with News and 
Truths, of Murray, Kentucky, which paper was not 
for sale. 

The committee also communicated with the Russell 
Creek Baptist, which paper they did not consider a 
state paper. 

No liabilities of either paper assumed by us. The 
subscription lists of each paper with all amounts due 
and unpaid on same are included in said offer as well 
as amounts due on advertising contracts. 

It is also understood that neither the Baptist 
World Publishing Company nor the Baptist Book 
Concern shall own or publish a paper so long as the 
State Board of Missions owns and publishes the 
Western Recorder as a state organ and that the good 
will of both papers is included in purchase of said 
papers. While our committee was instructed to make 
no concession which would embarrass us in operating 
a paper for the state, certain conditions have been 
practically agreed to by representatives of both papers 
which we recommend as follows: 

That the name Western Recorder shall be the ex- 
clusive name of our state paper. 

We recommend that the salary of Dr. E. B. 
Hatcher for one year, or such part thereof as is un- 
paid, be assumed by the state board and he shall be 
retained on the new paper in such relation and for 
such service as shall be agreed upon by the Board 
of Managers. The items above named are mutually 
conceded. 

We further recommend that a Board of Managers 
consisting of seven members shall be appointed by 
the chairman of this board, of which Board Secretary 
0. B. Bryan shall be one and C. W. Elsey, chairman 
of state board, another. 

We further recommend that the finances of said 
paper shall be handled through the state board office 
and that our corresponding secretary, 0. E. Bryan, 
shall be its business manager. 

As the paper is to be owned and controlled by the 



Program and Great Forward Movement — 1919159 

State Board of Missions, and is to be an asset of the 
same, we recommend that money for the purchase of 
the paper shall be taken from the $900,000 designated 
for state missions in such amounts and at such times 
as it can be done without injury to other state mis- 
sion items. 

(Signed) O. E. Bryan, 

W. M. Stallings, 
W. W. Landrum, 
H. S. Summers, 
B. H. Lovelace. 

The foregoing resolutions were adopted and the 
following Board of Managers was elected in the fol- 
lowing way : 

On motion the recording secretary was instructed 
to cast a ballot electing each of the following seven 
brethren as a member of the Board of Managers of the 
Western Recorder as the state paper. Following the 
instructions the secretary announced that the vote 
had been so cast: 0. E. Bryan, chairman, C. W. 
Elsey, C. M. Thompson, W. M. Stallings, W. W. 
Landrum, W. M. Seay, and H. B. Lovelace. 

The following motion was adopted: That the 
Board of Managers of the state board paper be author- 
ized to elect an editor for the official state paper. 

Meeting of the Board of Managers of the Western 
Recorder 

At the Watterson Hotel, September 9, 1919 

Motion was made by Doctor Landrum, seconded 

by Doctor Thompson and carried unanimously, that 

at the top of the editorial page of each issue of the 

Western Eecorder there shall appear this statement: 

EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT 

J. W. Porter Managing Editor 

E. B. Hatcher News Editor 

O. E. Bryan Business Manager 



160 Kentucky Baptist History— 1770-1922 

Meeting of Board of Managers of Western Recorder 

State Mission Rooms 205 E. Chestnut St. 

Louisville, Kentucky, May 24, 1920. 
Moved and carried: 

' * That it is the sense of this body that the dual 
editorship of the Western Recorder cease with 
September 1, 1920, and that the present editors of 
the paper be notified of that fact. From that date 
one man is to give his entire time to the paper, is to 
be held responsible for the editorial policy and general 
make-up of the paper, and that he be charged with 
looking after increasing its subscription list. It is 
further understood that this action is taken without 
prejudice to, or committing ourselves to either of the 
present incumbents. 

"Motion carried that secretary be instructed to 
send a copy of this action to each of the editors of 
the Western Recorder.'' 

The Rev. 0. E. Bryan, D. D., corresponding secre- 
tary of State Board of Missions in Kentucky, is en- 
titled to much credit for the consolidation of the two 
papers and the unifying of the forces in Kentucky. 
The Great Forward Movement 

In May, 1919, the Southern Baptist Convention 
in session in Atlanta, Georgia, put on foot the great 
"Seventy-five Million Campaign." This, of course, 
helps to account for the great advance shown in 1920, 
for the actual campaign was not put on until after 
our state meeting in Georgetown in November, 1919. 
The minutes (p. 17) of the meeting in Georgetown 
November, 1919, show a total of receipts by the State 
Board of Missions of $455,104.61. The minutes for 
the Owensboro meeting November, 1920 (p. 19) show 
total receipts $1,412,165.92. This is a marvelous 
advance. 

The Rev. 0. E. Bryan, D. D., corresponding secre- 
tary of Missions in Kentucky at this time, is entitled 
to much credit for this success. He is a man of splen- 
did spirit and fine executive ability. It should be 
borne in mind, however, that Kentucky had already 



Program and Great Forward Movement — 1919 161 

developed the " Budget System/' and that it was 
functioning well before we put on the Seventy-five 
Million Campaign. 

Back of this glorious achievement there is a long 
struggle that should not be overlooked. Such men as 
J. W. Warder, D.D., J. G. Bow, D. D., and W. D. 
Powell, D. D., rendered efficient service as correspond- 
ing secretaries of our mission board. 

It was the day of small things when Doctor Warder 
traveled over Kentucky collecting a dollar here and 
there for missions, and urging the churches to adopt 
an envelope system of collecting mission money. He 
did a good work in getting many of the churches to 
adopt this system, which came to be known as "The 
Warder System.' ' 

Dr. J. G. Bow, than whom there is not a straighter, 
cleaner man and truer Baptist, followed Doctor War- 
der and put into the mission work of Kentucky a 
business system which has told immensely for good. 
It was through the efforts and influence of Doctor 
Bow that Mr. Theodore Harris left in his will the 
large sum that was left to the Baptists of Kentucky. 
The Baptists of Kentucky owe Doctor Bow a much 
larger debt than they will ever pay him. Few men 
have been worth more to the Baptist cause in Ken- 
tucky than J. G. Bow. 

Following the administration of Doctor Bow came 
the enthusiastic, energetic W. D. Powell. Doctor 
Powell was not the systematic executive that Doctor 
Bow was, nor -that Doctor Bryan, his successor, was, 
but he was the superior of either of them in raising 
money under high pressure appeals. Here Doctor 
Powell was a brilliant success. Mission contributions 
grew very much under the eloquent and fiery appeals 
of this mission champion. 

Thus it will be seen that when Doctor Bryan came 
into office he found the foundation work well done. 
The systematic Bow had thoroughly systematized the 
work, and the zealous Powell had fanned the mis- 
sionary spirit all over the state into a flame, so that 
11 



162 Kentucky Baptist History— 1770-1922 

Doctor Bryan's work was largely a work of combining 
and directing the forces of the state. In this he 
exhibited rare ability. Doctor Bryan is one of the 
greatest mission secretaries in the South. He has re- 
signed his work with the State Board of Missions in 
Kentucky and gone to the Home Mission Board, 
Atlanta. 

On September 1, 1921, Dr. C. M. Thompson, a 
man of splendid ability and equipment, came from 
the pastorate of the First Baptist Church, Winchester, 
Kentucky, to the secretaryship of the State Board of 
Missions. Doctor Thompson is making a great secre- 
tary, though he is just now getting fairly started in 
his new position. 



CHAPTER XV 

Kentucky Baptist Institutions 

In this chapter we give a short history of the Ken- 
tucky Baptist Institutions now existing. Space does 
not allow an account of the many Baptist institutions 
which rendered efficient service in Kentucky for a 
time, but now extinct. The list would be long. We 
will name simply The Western Baptist Theological 
Institute, Covington; Clinton College, Clinton; The 
Baptist Female Academy, Danville; Bardstown Bap- 
tist Female College; Lynland College; Ohio Valley 
Baptist College, Sturgis; Choctaw Academy, near 
Georgetown, a school for Indians ; a number of Baptist 
papers, missionary and educational societies that 
operated for a time and passed away. 

One writer says, ' 'There were fifteen Baptist 
female schools in Kentucky at one time. ' ' The insti- 
tutions herein named are given in the order of their 
beginnings. 

The Western Recorder 

The author has had much trouble trying to get a 
connected and complete account of the establishing 
and developing of a Baptist paper in Kentucky. 
There are conflicting accounts given by writers on the 
early history of Kentucky Baptists at several points. 
The author has taken the dates which seem to be most 
consistent with all the facts. 

It seems that the first effort to establish a Baptist 
paper in Kentucky was in 1812. Elder Stark Dupuy, 
according to Spencer (Vol. I, p. 347) : "In 1812 
commenced the publication of the Kentucky Mis- 
sionary and Theologian, he being sole editor. It was 
a quarterly magazine, four numbers of which made 
a volume of 244 pages/ ' This paper was discon- 

163 



164 Kentucky Baptist History — 1770-1922 

tinued the following February on account of the war 
of 1812, according to the statement of the editor. 
"Mr. Dupuy," says Spencer, "was doubtless the first 
Baptist editor of a religious periodical west of the 
Alleghany Mount ains." 

The next effort, according to history, was in 1813. 
"Silas M. Noel commenced, in 1813, the publication 
of The Gospel Herald." (Spencer, Vol. I, p. 347.) 
This paper, which was a monthly, was soon discon- 
tinued for lack of patronage. The next Baptist news- 
paper venture in Kentucky seems to date from 1826. 
Our great Kentucky Baptist historian, Spencer (Vol. 
I, p. 217), says: "About the beginning of the year 
1826, George Waller and Spencer Clack began the 
publication of a paper (at Bloomfield, Kentucky,) 
called The Baptist Register. It was a semi-monthly 
and proposed to 'endeavor to strip religion of every- 
thing like the traditions of men, and to present the 
truth in a plain and simple manner.' The name of 
the paper was exchanged for that of The Baptist 
Recorder, and in 1830 it was changed to a monthly. 
Meanwhile the Baptist Chronicle, having been estab- 
lished by Uriel B. Chambers at Frankfort, the Baptist 
Recorder was soon discontinued. ' ' 

Again Spencer tells us (Vol. I, p. 597), concerning 
the Baptist Recorder : "Its issue was continued about 
four years, when it was succeeded by the Baptist 
Herald, afterwards called the Baptist Chronicle, 
edited by Uriel B. Chambers, Esq., at Frankfort, 
Kentucky. ' ' 

Just how long the Chronicle continued we have 
not learned, but in 1832 we find Mr. Chambers start- 
ing another paper, which indicates that the Chronicle 
had been discontinued. The next effort, the fifth, to 
establish a Baptist paper in Kentucky was in 1832, 
according to Spencer (Vol. I, p. 652). The Baptist 
State Convention started "The Cross and Baptist 
Banner, the first Baptist weekly that was published 
in Kentucky. The first number had been issued 
previous to this meeting of the convention. Uriel B. 



Kentucky Baptist Institutions 165 

Chambers was its editor, and assumed all the pecu- 
niary responsibility." This is all we know of this 
paper. No further reference to it has been found. 
The next paper seems to have been started by James 
Wilson, M. D., at Shelbyville, in 1834. Doctor Spen- 
cer, in speaking of Dr. John L. Waller (Vol. I, 
p. 702), says: "In 1835 he became editor of the 
Baptist Banner, a bi-weekly religious newspaper, 
which had been established at Shelbyville, Kentucky, 
in the preceding year by James Wilson, M. D. Soon 
after Mr. Waller became editor of the Baptist Banner, 
The Baptist, published at Nashville, Tennessee, and 
the Western Pioneer, published at Alton, Illinois, 
were merged into it. The new paper took the title 
of Baptist Banner and Western Pioneer. It was 
moved to Louisville, where Mr. Waller continued its 
chief editor until 1841, when he resigned in favor of 
William C. Buck." 

After the consolidation of the three papers the new 
paper became the denominational organ of Kentucky, 
Tennessee, Mississippi, Indiana, Illinois and Missouri 
Baptists. Under the editorship of the great Waller, 
the paper had the largest circulation in its history, 
except possibly during the editorship of T. T. Eaton, 
D. D., LL.D., who had associated with him as business 
manager Dr. W. P. Harvey, a man of unusual business 
ability. The statement is made by Doctor Harvey 
that "My recollection is that at one time we had a 
circulation of 27,500, with an advertising income of 
$15,000 per year. ' ' This record has never been dupli- 
cated. 

From the foregoing facts it seems that the Western 
Recorder is the lineal descendant of the Baptist Ban- 
ner started in Shelbyville in 1834. However, from 
the date on the Western Recorder they evidently 
number their volumes from the beginning of the Bap- 
tist Register, Bloomfield, 1826, later the Baptist 
Recorder. We find no connecting link between these 
two papers, however. Doctor Eaton, at the time 
editor, told the author that the Western Recorder 



166 Kentucky Baptist History — 1770-1922 

continued the volumes of the Baptist Recorder, Bloom- 
field. 

An old copy of the Baptist Banner, in our posses- 
sion, dated February 28, 1849, published at 47 Wall 
Street, Louisville, Ky., is numbered Vol. XVI, No. 9. 
Also an old copy of Western Recorder, which we have, 
dated October 22, 1851, is numbered Vol. XVIII, 
No. 43. These numbers show that the connection 
with the Bloomfield paper was made later. Of these 
two old papers W. C. Buck is editor of the former, 
and of the latter John L. Waller, R. L. Thurman and 
A. W. LaRue are editors. 

"William C. Buck continued as editor of the 
Baptist Banner and Western Pioneer about nine 
years," says Spencer. John L. Waller again became 
editor in 1850 and remained in this position until 
his death, October 10, 1854. Spencer adds, "Mean- 
while the name of the paper was exchanged in 1851 
for that of the Western Recorder." (Vol. I, p. 703.) 
An old copy of the Recorder, dated September 27, 
1854, gives John L. Waller and S. H. Ford as editors. 
Then another old copy, dated December 6, 1854, gives 
S. H. Ford as editor. This shows that Ford suc- 
ceeded to the sole editorship on the death of Waller. 
However, Ford did not continue as editor of the paper 
until the fall of 1861, as generally believed. 

An old copy of the Recorder, now in the hands 
of the editor, dated March 3, 1858, gives Dr. J. Otis, 
editor. Dr. Otis was editor until 1860. In June, 
1861, S. H. Ford is named as editor again. It has 
been claimed that the paper was suspended during 
the Civil War. 

Doctor Armitage in his history of the Baptists 
(p. 884), in giving a history of the Western Recorder, 
says: "During a part of the Civil War its issue was 
suspended, but it was resumed in 1863." 

Here again an old copy of the paper comes to our 
rescue. An old Recorder, now in the hands of the 
author, dated Saturday, June 28, 1862, edited by Chas. 
Y. Duncan, says: "It is now four months since we 



Kentucky Baptist Institutions 167 

resumed the publication of the Recorder, after its tem- 
porary suspension. ' ' This shows that the publication 
was resumed about the last of February, 1862. 

Armitage is correct when he says the paper "was 
suspended a part of the time during the Civil War," 
but is in error when he says its publication "was re- 
sumed in 1863, ' ' as this old copy of 1862 proves. We 
learn also from this old paper that Duncan (not men- 
tioned by Spencer) preceded A. C. Graves as editor. 

In this issue of June 28, 1862, Editor Duncan says : 
"We have arrived at the time when we wish to make 
some radical improvements of the Recorder. As here- 
tofore announced, we wish this week 's issue to enlarge 
and in every way improve it. Conscious of our own 
individual inability to conduct it, we have procured 
the services of Rev. S. F. Thompson, of Shelbyville, 
a young man of piety, education, talent and position. ' ' 
This suggests that S. F. Thompson was editorial 
writer for the paper for a time. 

The Recorder of October, 1863, states that the 
paper had been suspended for fifteen months and on 
June 25, 1864, the Recorder united with the Baptist 
Book Store owned by G. W. Robertson ; then in July, 
1864, A. C. Graves and J. C. Waller are named as 
editors. It seems that Graves continued only a short 
while and Waller 's name is continued as editor up to 
October, 1866. R. M. Dudley is named as editor 
January 12, 1867, and August 1, 1868, J. W. Rust is 
associated with Dudley. June 15, 1870, W. W. Gar- 
dener and L. B. Woolfolk are named as associate 
editors; then in June, 1871, Dr. G. W. Varden seems 
to have taken Woolfolk 's place. July 8, 1871, A. S. 
Worrell and A. C. Caperton are names as co-editors. 
It seems that Worrell bought the paper and sold one- 
half interest to Caperton, then nothing appears in 
the paper about Doctor Worrell but Caperton is named 
as editor and proprietor. In October, 1887, Caperton 
sold out to Harvey, McFerran Co. and Dr. Eaton be- 
came editor. 

Then follows the long and brilliant editorial 



168 Kentucky Baptist History — 1770-1922 

career of the immortal T. T. Eaton, D. D., LL.D., 
until his death, June 29, 1907, a period of nearly 
twenty years. After the death of Doctor Eaton, Dr. J. 
M. Weaver supplied as editor until the election of 
Dr. C. M. Thompson, 1907. Doctor Thompson served 
about two years. His editorial work was of a high 
order. He was not a voluminous writer, but a careful 
and accurate one. Dr. J. G. Bow, a man who has filled 
a large place in the denominational life of the Baptists 
of Kentucky, was associate editor with Doctor Thomp- 
son and business manager of the Baptist Book Con- 
cern, which published the Recorder. 

The editorial career of J. W. Porter, D. D., LL.D., 
the brilliant and versatile, began in 1909 and con- 
tinued until February, 1921. Doctor Porter exhibited 
great ability as an editorial writer. This author was 
associate editor with Doctor Porter several years, 
which position he resigned when the paper was sold 
to the State Board of Missions, August, 1919. In 
February, 1921, Dr. V. I. Masters, the present in- 
cumbent, became editor of the Western Recorder, 
which position he is filling with conspicuous ability. 
His writings are of a wide range and voluminous. 

Dr. A. S. Worrell established and edited The 
Baptist Sentinel, Lexington, Kentucky. Before us 
at this time are several copies of this monthly 
magazine. The January, 1870, number is "Vol. I, 
No. 3." This indicates that the Sentinel was 
launched November, 1869. In this January issue 
the editor says, "Brother D. B. Ray is now joint 
proprietor and assistant of the Sentinel. ' ' We do not 
know how long Doctor Worrell edited this journal, 
but a copy dated November, 1870, the latest we have, 
gives him as editor and D. B. Ray as assistant. 

Georgetown College — 1829 

Georgetown has been an educational center almost 
from the beginning of the settlement of the Missis- 
sippi valley. Early in 1788, Elijah Craig, a noted 
pioneer Baptist preacher of Kentucky, opened at 



Kentucky Baptist Institutions 169 

Georgetown, then called Lebanon, a classical school 
in accordance with the following quaint advertise- 
ment: 

"Lebanon, December 27, 1787. 

"Notice is hereby given that on Monday, 28th of 
January next, a school will be opened by Messrs. 
Jones and Worley, at the Royal Spring in Lebanon, 
Fayette County, where a commodious house, sufficient 
to contain fifty or sixty scholars, will be prepared. 
They will teach the Latin and Greek languages, to- 
gether with such branches of the sciences as are 
usually taught in public seminaries, at twenty-five 
shillings a quarter for each scholar. One-half to be 
paid in cash, the other half in produce at cash prices. 
There will be a vacation for a month in the Spring 
and another in the Fall, at the close of each of which 
it is expected that such payments as are due in cash 
shall be made. For diet, washing and house room for 
a year, each scholar pays three pounds in cash, or 500 
weight of pork on entrance, and three pounds in cash 
at the beginning of the third quarter. It is desired 
that as many as can would furnish themselves with 
beds; such as cannot may be provided here, to the 
number of eight or ten boys, at 35s a year for each 
bed. "Elijah Craig.' ' 

Little is known of the history of this school, but 
in 1789 the Legislature of Kentucky, by an act found- 
ing academies in the state, located one of them at 
Georgetown, and gave its trustees 6,000 acres of land 
for its support. As a result of this, Rittenhouse 
Academy began its career. In 1829 Georgetown Col- 
lege was chartered and immediately acquired the 
property and became the successor of Rittenhouse 
Academy. Georgetown College is the first chartered 
collegiate institution of Baptists south and west of 
the Alleghanies, and under its present name is fifth 
among Baptist institutions in the United States. In 
a real sense Georgetown College is the direct descen- 



170 Kentucky Baptist History— 1770-1922 

dant of the classical school above mentioned estab- 
lished in Georgetown by Elijah Craig in 1787. 

This school was absorbed by Rittenhouse Academy, 
which was chartered, largely through the influence 
of Mr. Craig, December 22, 1798, and which was 
operated as a county academy until 1829. 

Its quaint little two-story brick with the command- 
ing cupola became the first building of Georgetown 
College. This building was the only one owned by 
the college until 1840 and was used regularly until 
1860. If this descent is accepted, Georgetown College 
in age is second to Brown University among Baptist 
colleges in the United States. 

The original charter in 1829, incorporated "The 
Trustees of the Kentucky Baptist Education Society" 
and empowered them to fill all vacancies in their 
own number caused by death, resignation, neglect, or 
otherwise ; but by an amendment secured in 1851, the 
power to fill vacancies in the Board of Trustees was 
given to another corporation created for this purpose 
and composed of all persons who had contributed or 
who should thereafter contribute as much as one hun- 
dred dollars to the funds of the college. 

In 1906 the charter was again amended in such a 
manner as to vest in the Baptist Education Society 
of Kentucky the power of electing the trustees from 
suitable nominations made by the original society. 

Under this charter the college has had a continuous 
history from the year of its foundation to the present. 
Little by little it has grown in buildings, in means, 
in teachers, and in students. The Central building, 
now known as Giddings Hall, in which are most of 
the lecture rooms, was erected in 1840. Pawling Hall, 
erected in 1844 in recognition of the generosity of 
Issachar Pawling, was remodeled and much enlarged 
in 1877. The commodious building containing the 
chapel, library, society halls, and gymnasium, was 
erected in 1894 ; and Rucker Hall, the beautiful home 
for the young women of the college, was erected in 
1895, and named in honor of Prof. James Jefferson 



Kentucky Baptist Institutions 171 

Rucker. The other buildings have been added at 
various dates as the means of the college have per- 
mitted. 

Since its foundation many thousands of students 
have been enrolled in its classes and there have been 
nearly a thousand graduates. They are in every walk 
of life and in many of the states of the Union. About 
one hundred of them are now serving as pastors in 
the State of Kentucky and some are missionaries in 
foreign lands. 

From the first the teachers in the college have been 
men and women of earnest Christian character, fit 
guides and exemplars for the students, with whose 
lives they have always been in intimate contact. 
Among these teachers are many whose lives are inter- 
woven with the history of education in Kentucky. 

The names of Rockwood Giddings, Howard Mal- 
colm, Duncan R. Campbell, and Richard M. Dudley, 
former presidents of the college, are known by all 
who have studied Kentucky educational history, while 
the memory of Prof. Jonathan E. Farnam, Prof. Dan- 
f orth Thomas, and Prof. James J. Rucker is cherished 
with peculiar veneration on account of their many 
years of consecrated service to the college by all those 
who have passed under their influence. 

The younger men, who have in recent years been 
added to the teaching force, are most of them repre- 
sentatives of old and famous universities, and all of 
them specialists in their departments, but the quali- 
fications especially sought after in their selection have 
been Christian character and sympathetic understand- 
ing of the needs and ambitions of the young. 

Co-education 

For the first sixty years of its history, the college 
was conducted as a school for young men ; but in 1892 
young women were admitted on the same terms as 
men. 

This step was taken in the belief that young women 
would not remain satisfied with an older type of edu- 



172 Kentucky Baptist History — 1770-1922 

cation which had been provided for them on the 
theory of their incapacity for the higher standards 
required of men. The leaders of this movement in 
Kentucky, among whom Prof. J. J. Eucker stands 
easily first, had become convinced that young women 
are as capable of first class education as young men. 
The results at Georgetown College in co-education 
have amply justified the experiment. The fact that 
this college took the bold stand that young women 
would come to demand the best in education, and that 
Georgetown attempts to offer only this, has made it 
noted as a home for college women who have caught 
a vision of the opportunities for large service which 
this country offers to the young woman who will pay 
the price of thorough educational training. 

Year by year the college views with increasing 
satisfaction the eager submission of mature young 
women to the labor required for the acquisition of a 
college education. The class of young women of in- 
telligence and trustworthy character who heed the 
call of higher education insures the absence of those 
so-called difficulties of co-education which are said 
to exist in the popular mind. 

Georgetown College sees its definite mission as a 
standard Christian college, working under the control 
of the Baptist denomination in Kentucky, and repre- 
sentative of its aims and ideals. It is a college in 
the true meaning of that term. It believes that the 
highest reality of true and useful culture lies, not 
outside of, but within the Kingdom of God; and so 
its educational work is deeply religious in the con- 
viction that a life of efficient and faithful human 
service in obedience to Jesus Christ is the noblest 
career open to man. 

The college endowment is now about $480,000, but 
at the end of the Seventy-five Million Campaign, if 
the proceeds come in as planned and expected, the 
endowment will be slightly over a million dollars. 

The enrollment of students at this date is 358. 

The presidents since the term of R. M. Dudley 



Kentucky Baptist Institutions 173 

have been in the following order: A. C. Davidson, 
B. D. Gray, J. J. Taylor, Arthur Yeager, and M. B. 
Adams, the present incumbent. 

Bethel College— 1849 

Bethel College was organized by the Bethel Asso- 
ciation of Baptists of southwestern Kentucky in 1849, 
under the name of "Bethel High School." The main 
building was erected in 1852, and the school was 
formally opened in January, 1854, under the manage- 
ment of Mr. B. T. Blewitt. The school prospered and, 
upon the public demand for work beyond the high 
school, a new charter was obtained, and the institu- 
tion entered upon its career as a college in September, 
1856. Mr. Blewitt was made the president of the 
new college and continued with the institution until 
the summer of 1861, when the distractions of war 
made it necessary to close the school. 

In the winter of 1861 and 1862 the building was 
used as a hospital by the Confederate forces until 
the fall of Fort Donelson, in February. In Septem- 
ber, 1863, the college was reopened under Rev. George 
Hunt as president. The reorganization of the institu- 
tion was accompanied by many discouragements. In 
1864 Mr. Hunt resigned, and J. W. Rust became the 
president. Under his direction the institution con- 
tinued to grow in numbers and influence until 1868, 
when President Rust was compelled to resign by rea- 
son of poor health. He was succeeded by Noah K. 
Davis. Under his direction the courses of study were 
divided up into schools, each school embracing all of 
the subjects contained in one line of study. Gradua- 
tion was dependent upon the completion of the work 
in a certain number of schools. In 1869 there was 
established a Chair of English, so that Bethel was the 
first American college thus to recognize the impor- 
tance of this department. 

During the period after the war many additions 
were made to the college property and to the endow- 
ment fund. In 1872 the president's house was built, 



174 Kentucky Baptist History— 1770-1922 

and in 1876 N. Long Hall, the college dormitory, was 
erected. The endowment had steadily increased from 
$40,000 in 1860 to $85,000 in 1875. 

Mr. James Enlow, of Christian County, in 1869 
bequeathed to Bethel College about $6,000, the income 
from which, when it became available in 1872, was 
used as a loan fund from which to aid young men 
who were studying for the ministry in Bethel College. 
The "Ewing Professorship of Philosophy" was so 
entitled in consideration of the valuable bequests of 
Judge E. M. Ewing and his son, H. Q. Ewing. The 
1 ' N. Long Professorship of English and History ' ' was 
named in honor of the constant and devoted services 
as well as liberality of Mr. Nimrod Long, of Russell- 
ville. The Norton brothers — George W., William P., 
and Eckstein, all of whom were natives of Russell- 
ville — were liberal contributors to the funds of the 
college, and in grateful recognition of this fact the 
"Norton Chair of Natural Sciences" was so named. 

During the administration of President Ryland 
the heirs of N. Long and G. W. Norton offered to the 
board of trustees the property formerly known as 
the Southern Bank of Kentucky to be used as a library 
and for kindred purposes. 

In 1908 Bethel College became affiliated with the 
Baptist Educational Society of Kentucky, which is 
striving to promote the welfare of the Baptist schools 
of Kentucky. The college has received considerable 
financial help from this society. 

As a result of the great Seventy-five Million Cam- 
paign in the fall of 1919, the value of the work will 
be increased by the $200,000 assigned to Bethel Col- 
lege for needed buildings and endowment. The board 
has recommended the construction of a new dormitory 
for the exclusive use of college students and has 
authorized a campaign among the former students 
and friends of the school for the construction of a 
memorial chapel to be dedicated to Professor James 
H. Fuqua, who died in February, 1920, after intimate 
association with the college since its opening in 1852. 



Kentucky Baptist Institutions 175 

Presidents of Bethel College 

B. T. Blewitt 1854-61 

College closed 1861-63 

Rev. George Hunt 1863-64 

J. W. Rust 1864-68 

Noah K. Davis 1868-73 

Leslie Waggener 1873-83 

James H. Fuqua, Chairman of 

Faculty 1883-87 

Rev. W. S. Ryland 1889-98 

Rev. E. S. Alderman 1898-02 

W. H. Harrison 1903-07 

James D. Garner 1907-09 

F. D. Perkins 1909-13 

H. G. Brownell. . 1913-17 

Rev. R. H. Tandy 1917-18 

Geo. F. Dasher 1918- 

Bethel Woman's College — 1854 

Bethel Female College was the culmination of a 
desire of the Baptists of Hopkinsville and Bethel 
association to provide an institution in which young 
women could receive an education beyond that which 
they could acquire in the ordinary public or private 
schools. The movement for this school began to take 
definite shape in 1853, when public-spirited citizens 
of Christian and adjacent counties, by private con- 
tributions, raised funds to buy six acres of ground in 
which is now the heart of the best residence section 
of the city of Hopkinsville. In 1854 a charter was 
secured under the name of Bethel High School. In 
1855 the cornerstone was laid and in 1857 was com- 
pleted the splendid four-story building which, with 
its massive columns, still remains one of the most 
beautiful examples of Greek architecture to be found 
in the state. 

In 1858 the school was given a new charter under 
the name of Bethel Female College. This charter was 
afterwards repealed, but the new name was retained. 

In 1890 a charter was secured legalizing the name 



176 Kentucky Baptist History— 1770-1922 

Bethel Female College and granting to the institu- 
tion the power to confer the usual college degrees. 

The first principal of the institution was W. F. 
Hill, elected in 1856. He was followed in 1857 by 
J. W. Rust, who resigned in August, 1863, when the 
school was closed for several months. T. G. Keen 
re-opened the school in March, 1864, and continued 
as principal until 1866. The school was then quite 
prosperous. M. G. Alexander succeeded Mr. Keen 
and resigned in 1868, to be succeeded by J. F. Dagg. 
In 1874 Mr. Dagg was succeeded by J. W. Rust, who 
remained with the college until his death in 1890. 
For about a year the office of president was vacant, 
but in January, 1891, T. S. McCall, of Liberty College, 
was elected to the position and remained with the 
school until 1896, when he was succeeded by Edmund 
Harrison. After a very successful administration of 
thirteen years, Doctor Harrison resigned in 1909 and 
H. G. Brownell was elected to fill the vacancy. In 
1914 W. S. Peterson was chosen to succeed President 
Brownell, who was elected to the presidency of Bethel 
College, for men, at Russellville, Kentucky. In 1908 
the college became a part of the system of the Baptist 
Education Society, and in 1916, under the administra- 
tion of Mr. Peterson, it was decided to cease giving 
the A. B. degree, to make Bethel a standard junior 
college and to omit the word "Female" from the 
name, substituting "Woman's." 

During all these years the policy of the trustees 
had been to lease the building and grounds to the 
president, who conducted the institution as a private 
enterprise. For many reasons this was unsatisfac- 
tory; so in 1917, upon the resignation of President 
Peterson, a new policy was adopted. Under this 
policy the trustees elect all officers and teachers. They 
likewise become responsible for and control all ex- 
penditures. 

Miss Clara Belle Thompson was chosen president 
and Mrs. Eager vice-president. Under their adminis- 
tration the results have been so satisfactory that the 



Kentucky Baptist Institutions 111 

trustees have decided to continue the present policy. 

Upon Miss Thompson's resignation in the spring 
of 1919, J. W. Gaines was chosen president and dur- 
ing his first year the attendance increased three-fold. 

The stately old building is a beautiful sight as 
it stands in the center of the large campus covered 
with blue grass and shaded by magnificent trees. 

Year before last it was found necessary to increase 
the accommodations and a new residence hall was 
erected, forming a west wing to the old building. 
This building contains twenty-four bedrooms equipped 
with stationary washstands, with hot and cold water. 
The ground floor contains a well-equipped science 
laboratory and seven commodious class rooms. 

Last year an east wing was added which contains 
thirty bedrooms, a well-equipped infirmary, four large 
music studios, twelve practice rooms and a thoroughly 
modern gymnasium. A swimming pool has also been 
added and the interior of the old building remodeled 
and renovated, making it the most attractive portion 
of the college plant. 

Bethel Woman's College is a member of the co- 
ordinate school system in Kentucky. 

The Louisville Baptist Orphans' Homes — 1869 

In the years following the Civil War, the children 
orphaned thereby became a pressing problem to 
Dr. George C. Lorimer and his people, the Walnut 
Street Church. They did what they could, but despite 
their efforts Baptist mothers were compelled to allow 
their children to go into Catholic orphanage asylums. 
The Catholics then solicited aid of the Baptists for 
the support of their orphanages on the ground that 
they were caring for Baptist orphans. This was more 
than Doctor Lorimer could stand, and he cried out as 
he talked with his Ladies' Aid, " There must be an 
end to this. Who will kneel and pray with me, God 
helping us we will build a home for these orphan 
children ? ' ' All bowed and his petition as he led them 
in prayer was one that had power with God and men. 



178 Kentucky Baptist History— 1770-1922 

The die was cast. The thing was done. The work 
was at once initiated. Some three years later, on 
June 30, 1869, the "Home for Helpless Children " 
was opened in rented quarters at 828 West Walnut 
Street. W. L. Weller of sainted memory guaranteed 
the first year 's rent. God 's favor was upon the enter- 
prise. His first great gift to the work was Miss Mary 
Hollinsworth, who answered the call on July 6, 1869, 
and continued as the superintendent until March, 
1905, when forced to retire by the infirmities of age. 
The home was chartered January 29, 1870. Ground 
was broken for the first wing of the present building 
at First and St. Catherine Streets, March 21, 1870, 
and the same was formally opened on December 19, 
1870. This was made possible by the gift of the site 
by Dr. J. Lawrence Smith and wife, and the first 
$10,000 by three sisters — Mrs. J. Lawrence Smith, 
Mrs. W. B. Caldwell, and Mrs. John Caperton. The 
additional $10,000 needed was in the main raised by 
Mrs. Arthur Peter and other women of the committee. 
Through the efforts of Dr. W. M. Pratt, the home in 
1872 was provided with the nucleus of a splendid 
library for that day. A thorough canvass by Prof. J. 
W. Rust in 1873 laid the interests of the home upon 
the hearts of the Baptists throughout the state. As 
early as 1874 the need for enlargement began to be 
felt; but it was the challenging gift of Capt. W. F. 
Norton and his mother of $5,000 to the building fund 
on February 28, 1891, that aroused the Baptists to 
quickly subscribe the $22,000 balance needed for the 
erection of the central wing of the building. The 
cornerstone was laid October 13, 1891, and the dedica- 
tion occurred October 2, 1892. Doctors A. T. Spald- 
ing, E. C. Dargan and John A. Broaddus had part 
in the dedication exercises. The celebration of the 
silver anniversary of the home, due June 20, 1894, 
for good and sufficient reasons did not take place until 
October 2d. The occasion was made much of. Dr. T. 
T. Eaton gave the historical sketch. Dr. George C. 
Lorimer, then pastor in Boston, was the guest of honor 



Kentucky Baptist Institutions 179 

and made a masterly address upon "Memories of the 
past and deeds of the future." A collection for the 
home netted some $4,500. 

Board Presidents 

From the organization of the home to the day of 
his death in 1883, Dr. J. Lawrence Smith was the 
president of the Board of Trustees. His brother-in- 
law, Dr. W. B. Caldwell, succeeded him and served 
until he "fell on sleep' ' in 1892. Dr. J. B. Marvin, 
already the physician of the home, was the next presi- 
dent. His years of service were suddenly terminated 
by death on September 2, 1913. Mr. Frank Miller, 
honored by the Board of Trustees as his successor, 
continues the faithful and efficient presiding officer. 

Superintendents 

Miss Mary Hollinsworth, from July 6, 1869, to 
March 31, 1905; Miss Mary E. Abercrombie, who 
had been secretary and assistant to Miss Hollinsworth, 
succeeded her. She resigned the work September, 
1912 j Miss Mattie Priest was the next superintendent, 
and so continued until she was called up higher on 
August 22, 1919, save for one year spent with her 
sister on the mission field of China. Rev. 0. M. Huey 
and wife took charge on November 15, 1919, as super- 
intendent and assistant. 

Endowment 

The home has a productive endowment of $287,- 
823.69, largely the bequest of Capt. W. F. Norton, 
whom it was found upon his death had made the 
home his principal heir. Under the will of Captain 
Norton the income only from this endowment can be 
used for the maintenance of the home. It is in every 
way desirable that the endowment shall grow by gifts 
and a place in the wills of Baptists who want what 
God has entrusted to them to go on doing good after 
they are gone. 

12 



180 Kentucky Baptist History— 1770-1922 

The Orphan's Friend 

The official organ of the home was established in 
1872 and has proven an invaluable aid in many ways. 
Its monthly visit is eagerly anticipated in Baptist 
homes all over the state. 

Support 

The income from the endowment is the first source 
of support. The home is put into the budget of Ken- 
tucky Baptists each year for a definite sum. The two 
funds are not adequate to all of its needs. 

Present Situation 

The property is in good shape, the endowment 
funds wisely invested, and there are in the home at 
this time 130 children. Since the coming of the Rev. 
0. M. Huey, the home has increased its capacity from 
120 to 135. During the long and useful life of the 
home, Louisville has furnished only some 16 per cent 
of the inmates, but above 75 per cent of the income, 
while from out in the state has come 84 per cent of 
the children and 25 per cent of the revenue. The 
home feels it has a strong claim upon the Baptists 
all over the state. The home in all of its long history 
has had but four physicians — Drs. G. W. Burton, 
G. H. Cox, J. B. Marvin and R. Lindsey Irland, all 
of whom have served without compensation. As a 
specialist. Dr. Gay lord Hall is now rendering invalu- 
able services. 

Cumberland College — 1888 

The first suggestion of a Baptist College at Wil- 
liamsburg, Kentucky, came in 1887 from Mount Zion 
Association, which met at Bethlehem that year. Late 
in the same year a special session of the association 
convened at Williamsburg. Rev. Green Clay Smith 
was present and gave such encouragement to the move- 
ment that $4,000 was subscribed. Articles of incor- 
poration were also drafted; these were approved by 



Kentucky Baptist Institutions 181 

the legislature April 6, 1888, and Williamsburg Insti- 
tute opened its doors for students January 7, 1889. 

W. J. Johnson was chosen principal of the school 
and pastor of the church in 1889, apparently. Both 
of these positions he held for the ensuing year, but 
becoming absorbed in the task of raising money, he 
yielded the presidency of the school to Prof. E. E. 
Wood in the fall of 1890. Professor Wood was vir- 
tually president until the spring of 1919, although 
Rev. J. N. Prestridge was actually president for a 
brief period. 

In 1892 the trustees obtained a conditional pledge 
of $10,000 from the American Baptist Education 
Society, provided an additional sum of $25,000 was 
raised for endowment. To secure this gift Dr. A. 
Gatliff gave $10,000 of the additional amount — his 
first large gift to the school. Through the unceasing 
efforts of the trustees and friends from the beginning 
of the enterprise unto the present the general endow- 
ment has been gradually increased until it now totals 
$275,000. 

New buildings have been erected and additional 
grounds acquired as the need arose. The principal 
buildings are : Administration, Grade, Manual Train- 
ing, Domestic Science, Johnson Hall for girls, Felix 
Hall for boys. The entire plant is valued at $200,000. 
The name of the institution was changed to Cumber- 
land College in 1913. 

Cumberland College is a first class " Junior Col- 
lege," that is, a college that completes freshman and 
sophomore work, and thus enables its graduates to 
enter the junior year of standard colleges. Fifteen 
units of high school work are required for entrance 
to the college proper. The only degree given is that 
of "Associate of Arts." 

Williamsburg, the location of Cumberland College, 
is in the southern part of the mountains of eastern 
Kentucky, on the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, 
about two hundred miles south of Cincinnati, about 
an equal distance from Louisville, and also about 



182 Kentucky Baptist History— 1770-1922 

ninety miles north of Knoxville. It is also on the 
Dixie Highway. It is a place of natural beauty and 
healthful surroundings. 

In name and in practice the school is religious. 
Not only is the Bible taught as a text-book, but in 
all the work of the institution it is honored. In chapel 
especially, but also in all the departments, religion is 
inculcated and a spiritual atmosphere is maintained. 
All pupils are required to attend chapel services 
every morning, and church at least once every Sun- 
day. The school is under Baptist auspices, and all 
students are welcome at the Baptist Church; yet in 
selecting a place of worship they are allowed to exer- 
cise conscientious preferences. 

The Rev. Charles William Elsey, D. D., was elected 
president of the institution in May, 1921, succeeding 
Prof. A. R. Evans, acting president during the term 
1920-21. 

The Baptist Ministers' Aid Society of Ken- 
tucky— 1888 

The Baptist Ministers' Aid Society of Kentucky 
was organized at Eminence, Kentucky, June 21, 1888, 
and incorporated April 19, 1890. 

The Rev. J. S. Felix, D. D., pastor First Baptist 
Church, Owensboro, was largely responsible for bring- 
ing into existence this organization, and is the first 
named on the board of incorporators. 

The purpose of the institution as set forth in the 
articles of incorporation is "to provide for disabled 
Baptist ministers and missionaries, and the dependent 
infant orphans of Baptist ministers and missionaries 
in the State of Kentucky during the time of their 
disability with a comfortable home and the necessities 
of life, together with medical attendance and, in case 
of death, with respectable burial. ' ' Noble purpose ! 

The maximum of the endowment was fixed at 
$50,000. At Hopkinsville, November, 1921, the Gen- 
eral Association voted to change this to $100,000, so 
bequests for this purpose could be accepted. This 



Kentucky Baptist Institutions 183 

society has done a great work in helping to better care 
for our old and dependent preachers. While the 
board is still intact and carrying on the business at 
Owensboro, Kentucky, our beneficiaries are being 
served by the ''Relief and Anuity Board" of the 
Southern Baptist Convention, located at Dallas, 
Texas. The Baptist Ministers' Aid Society of Ken- 
tucky has proven to be a very valuable institution. 

Russell Creek Baptist Academy — 1906 

Situated at Campbellsville, Taylor County, Ken- 
tucky. The origin of this school was at the session 
of the Russell Creek Association, at Salem Church, 
in September, 1900, when a committee, with H. C. 
Wood as chairman, was appointed "to raise funds to 
build, equip and put in operation a Baptist school, 
to be known as the Baptist Academy of the Russell 
Creek Association." 

Under the leadership of those great Baptist lay- 
men, Judge James Garnett, Sr., B. W. Penick, the 
Rev. J. S. Gatton and the Rev. W. T. Underwood and 
their associates, the school was incorporated under the 
corporate name of the "Educational Committee of 
the Russell Creek Association." In 1906 a suitable 
site of ten acres of land in Campbellsville, Kentucky, 
was purchased and the erection of the Administration 
Building and a three-story dormitory for girls — both 
brick buildings — were erected. The dormitory was 
named after J. S. Stapp, who gave largely to its 
erection. 

In 1914 a farm of fifty-two acres near the campus 
was purchased for demonstration and experimental 
purposes, J. H. Kinnard of Red Lick, Kentucky, con- 
tributing the purchase price. A lot adjoining the 
farm has recently been bought and a six-room resi- 
dence erected thereon for use of the school farmer. 

In 1918 a house and lot adjoining the campus was 
purchased and a large addition built thereto, making 
a dormitory for the boys with thirty rooms. In 1919 
another lot containing an acre of land and a two-story 



184 Kentucky Baptist History — 1770-1922 

dwelling with verandas and also outbuildings was con- 
veyed to the school by Mr. C. L. Brady of Springfield, 
Kentucky, and in the same year an addition of eight 
acres of land adjoining the campus was purchased 
and added to the campus, making a campus of eigh- 
teen acres besides the two adjoining lots and the farm. 

The girls' dormitory contains more than thirty 
rooms, besides dining-rooms, kitchen and halls. The 
buildings are all situated on a beautiful elevation and 
are both attractive and substantial. 

This school is a member of the Baptist Education 
Society of Kentucky, and A-l accredit academy, and 
is so recognized by the State Department of Educa- 
tion, as well as by the denomination. 

The course of study extends from the primary 
through four years of high school. Special courses 
are given in music, art, expression, domestic science 
and normal training. 

The Bible is taught in every grade every day. 

The aim of the academy is to be thorough in all 
of its work, and not only to give an education, but 
to instill into the minds and hearts of the pupils the 
teachings and principles of Jesus; and to do it from 
the Baptist viewpoint. The enrollment each year has 
exceeded 300. 

Kentucky Baptist Children's Home — 1915 

For a number of years the conviction had been 
growing that the Baptists of Kentucky ought to own 
and control a home in which to care for orphan and 
indigent children. In many sections of the state the 
demand was insistent, and the matter was discussed 
with earnestness in many Baptist gatherings. This 
conviction finally found expression in a memorial 
from the Ohio County Association to the General 
Association of Baptists in Kentucky in its session at 
Somerset, in November, 1914, calling for the estab- 
lishment of such an institution. The memorial was 
received with enthusiasm, and after much serious con- 
sideration the body voted to appoint the following 
committee: S. E. Tull, Paducah, Ky.; T. H. Athey, 



Kentucky Baptist Institutions 185 

Shelbyville, Ky. ; W. L. Brock, Lexington, Ky. ; W. M. 
Stallings, Smith's Grove, Ky. ; W. W. Horner, Louis- 
ville, Ky. ; Thomas D. Osborne, Louisville, Ky. ; Edw. 
C. Farmer, Louisville, Ky. ; J. E. Martin, Jellico, 
Term. ; and S. M. McCarter, Lawrenceburg, Ky., with 
full power to act in the establishment of a Kentucky 
Baptist Children's Home, said committee to become 
the trustees of the institution. Acting upon the in- 
structions of the General Association of Baptists in 
Kentucky, the beautiful and commodious property 
near Glendale, Hardin County, Kentucky, formerly 
Lynnland College, consisting of sixteen acres of 
land and the buildings thereon, was purchased and 
equipped. Elder A. B. Gardner, Beaver Dam, Ken- 
tucky, was elected as the superintendent, and on June 
23, 1915, the home was opened for the reception of 
homeless, destitute children. Brother Gardner con- 
tinued as superintendent until December 31, 1916, 
when on account of failing health he was forced to 
give up the work that held such a large place' in his 
loving heart. On October 12, 1918, he was called to 
his eternal home. During his superintendency there 
were 113 children received into the home, and he laid 
the foundation of what is confidently expected to be 
one of the greatest institutions of its kind in the 
United States. In 1916 the trustees purchased 120 
acres of land, known as the Walker farm, situated a 
short distance from the home. On January 1, 1917, 
Rev. J. W. Vallandingham, at that time pastor of 
Gilead Baptist Church, Glendale, Kentucky, and a 
member of the Board of Trustees was elected superin- 
tendent and Mrs. Vallandingham was elected matron. 
Brother and Sister Vallandingham continued the 
work so ably begun by Brother Gardner. Many im- 
provements were made, including a large front porch 
and two large dormitories, waterworks and electric 
lights were installed and plans were made for more 
extensive improvements in the future. In June, 1919, 
realizing that his physical condition was such that he 
could no longer carry the burden, Brother Valland- 



186 Kentucky Baptist History— 1770-1922 

ingham tendered his resignation to the Board of 
Trustees, which was reluctantly accepted, and M. Geo. 
Moore, a layman, member of the First Baptist Church 
of Lexington, Kentucky, who was at that time and 
for seven and a half years previously superintendent 
of the Pythian Home of Kentucky, located at Lex- 
ington, was elected superintendent and Mrs. Moore 
elected matron. Mr. and Mrs. Moore took charge on 
August 14, 1919. In 1920, 173 acres of land, known 
as the Monin farm, adjacent to the home on the south 
side and extending to Nolin Kiver, was purchased, 
making a total of 309 acres owned by the home which, 
together with improvements and personal property, 
is worth approximately $140,000. From June 23, 
1915, to November 1, 1921, 321 children have been 
cared for, 146 of whom were in the home on the last 
named date. 



It will be observed that the Southern Baptist Theo- 
logical Seminary is not included in this list of "Ken- 
tucky Baptist Institutions. ' ' While the seminary is 
located in Louisville, Kentucky, it is not a "Ken- 
tucky Institution, ' ' but a southwide institution. This 
is the reason why it is not included in this chapter. 
The seminary is a great and worthy institution, de- 
serving the sympathy and support of our people. 



CHAPTER XVI 
The Mystery of Lincoln's Religion Cleared Up 

One of the most interesting characters in all 
American history is Abraham Lincoln. Born in a 
one-room log cabin in the wilderness of Kentucky, 
reared in the grinding poverty and hardships of the 
backwoods of Indiana and Illinois, he, by dint of in- 
dustry and application, became a great lawyer and 
statesman, a great president and preserver of a 
nation. 

Every student of history is familiar with the real 
humanity and depths of character of this great Amer- 
ican citizen. In the study of such a character ques- 
tions will arise : " What of his ancestry? Were they 
pious, religious people ? What of his training ? What 
inspired him to a great life ? ' ' The student naturally 
looks for something in the dreary pioneer life of 
" Honest Abe" that inspired him to nobler and 
greater things beyond the horizon of his wilderness 
home. In our search for this inspiration we find that 
Lincoln's parents were pious, religious Baptist stock. 
The Lincolns were Baptists in Kentucky and united 
with a Baptist church in Indiana, where they first 
settled after leaving Kentucky, as shown by the fol- 
lowing : 

"Lincoln City, Ind., Nov. 5, 1921.— Rolling back 
the mists of a century and offering the deerskin-bound 
records of Little Pigeon Baptist Church near here as 
the missing link of Abraham Lincoln's religion, 
Thomas B. McGregor, Assistant Attorney-General of 
the State of Kentucky, has given to an appreciative 
American substantial evidence that Abraham Lincoln 
was reared in the simple faith of the * hard-shelled' 
Baptist Church." 

"Much of the mystery of Lincoln's religion, and 
187 



188 Kentucky Baptist History — 1770-1922 

that of his parents, for over half a century a mooted 
question, has been evaporated by the finding of Mr. 
McGregor in the little old deerskin book of Little 
Pigeon Church. 

" There is no record of Abraham Lincoln's affilia- 
tion with any church denomination, but Mr. Mc- 
Gregor's story of Thomas Lincoln, moderator and 
pillar of the little Baptist church, proves conclusively, 
Mr. McGregor says, that the Lincoln family were 
Baptists. 

Were Well To Do 

1 ' The parents of Abraham Lincoln deserve a fairer 
estimate than has been allotted them by most of the 
biographers of Lincoln," says Mr. McGregor, "and 
the story, as told by the records that are still to be 
found in the archives of Little Pigeon Church, near 
Lincoln City, Spencer County, Indiana, of the devo- 
tion paid by the parents of Lincoln to him who guided 
the lad of Pigeon Creek in the hour of the nation's 
travail, goes far to give to them their true estimate. 
In fact, they were well-to-do pioneers of their day; 
of sturdy ancestral stock, owned a farm, domestic ani- 
mals, tools and a family Bible ; neighborly, sacrificing 
and active church-going members. 

"Pigeon Creek Church was founded on June 8, 
1816, the year that Thomas Lincoln and his family 
moved from Kentucky and settled on Little Pigeon 
Creek in what was then Warwick County, Indiana 
Territory. It was then, as now, the chief church in 
that vicinity. When the meeting-house was built, its 
site was selected about a mile west of Thomas Lin- 
coln's home, the church building today occupying 
practically the same place. When Lincoln's mother 
died she was buried between their home and the 
church, the graveyard not having been at that time 
started at the church, but when Lincoln 's sister, Sarah 
Grigsby, died in 1828, she was buried at the church 
burying ground, where her grave is yet to be seen, 
marked by a rough stone. 



Mystery of Lincoln's Religion Cleared Up 189 

"This church, with its continuous existence since 
1816, has only two books containing its records and 
minutes, the first covering the period from 1816 to 
1840. It is in this book that we find Abraham Lin- 
coln's father, stepmother and sister were active mem- 
bers of the hard-shell Baptist Church of Pigeon Creek, 
and this book, with its deerskin cover, the hair still 
remaining, not only reveals in its crude, historic way 
the true religion of Lincoln's parents, but gives us 
the best insight yet found to his own religious 
views. 

Records of Church 

' ' Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks were married 
by a Methodist minister by the name of Jesse Head, 
but shortly afterward they were united with one of 
the churches of Baptist Licking-Locust Association 
of regular Baptist churches of Kentucky, and when 
Nancy Lincoln died in Indiana, Abraham, by his own 
efforts, had their Kentucky pastor, Elder David 
Elkins, come to their wilderness home and preach his 
mother's funeral. 

"After Thomas Lincoln had married Sally Bush 
Johnson he sent back to his Kentucky church and 
obtained his letter of fellowship, and as the minutes on 
June 1, 1823, show, he united with the Pigeon Creek 
Church by this letter and his wife by experience. 
From that date until they moved to Illinois in 1830, 
their names appear frequently in the minutes of the 
church proceedings, Thomas being one of the pillars of 
the church acting as moderator, on committees to 
investigate the conduct of brethren and sisters, and 
messenger to associations, bearing the letter of Pigeon 
Creek to her sister churches. 

Text of Records 

"The historic minute which records the affiliation 
of Thomas Lincoln and his wife with this little pioneer 
church follows: 

"June the 7" 1823. 



190 Kentucky Baptist History — 1770-1922 

"The church met and after prayer proceeded to 
business. 

"1st Inquired for fellowship. 

"2nd Invited members of sister churches to seat 
with us. 

"3rd Opened a dore for the Reception of Mem- 
bers. 

"4th Received Brother Thomas Linkon by letter 
and * * * * 

"7th Received Brother John Wire by Relation 
and Sister Linkhon and Thomas Carter by Ex- 
perance. ' ' 

"Thomas Lincoln was not in such poor circum- 
stances but that he always donated to the needs of 
his church, ' ' said Mr. McGregor in offering the follow- 
ing copy of an agreement to build a new chimney on 
the meeting-house : 

"We the undersigned Do agree one with another 
to pay the several Somes next our names in produce 
this fall to be Delivered Betwixt the first and 20 
December, the produce, as follows, corn, wheat, 
whiskey, soft Linnen wool or any other article a 
material to do the work with, the produce will be 
delivered at Wm. Barker's in good mercantile prod- 
uce/' 

Signed with other names is : 

"Thomas Lincoln, white corn, manufactured — 
pounds — 24." 

"Thus," continued Mr. McGregor, "we have re- 
vealed to us the religion of Abraham Lincoln's 
parents, his sister Sarah, and of himself. He was 
raised in the simple Baptist faith, which in after 
years never left him. 

"We have no record of Thomas Lincoln or his 
wife ever uniting with any church after they moved 
to Illinois in 1830." 

The above was published by the daily papers, and 
is taken from Judge McGregor's lecture on Lincoln. 
It will be observed that Judge McGregor refers to 
the "Licking Locust Association of Regular Baptists 



Mystery of Lincoln's Religion Cleared Up 191 

in Kentucky" as "Hardshell." The Licking Locust 
Association, according to Spencer, was constituted 
1807 as a result of a split on the slavery question. 
This association was an "emancipation association," 
but it disappeared about 1820, according to his- 
tory. 

Judge McGregor, however, makes a mistake when 
he concludes that the association, because anti-slavery, 
was anti-mission. The churches constituting the Lick- 
ing Locust Association were missionary, and all of 
them that now exist are still missionary. Many of 
the preachers who were known as "Emancipation 
preachers" were among the most evangelistic of the 
state. The Licking Locust association could not have 
been a "Hardshell Association," for it passed out of 
existence at least a decade before the mission split — 
or before there were any Hardshell associations. 
Prior to 1816, the date when the Lincolns left Ken- 
tucky, there were no "Hardshells" in Kentucky. To 
whatever Baptist church the Lincolns may have be- 
longed in Kentucky, it was not a ' ' Hardshell ' ' or Anti- 
mission church, for Spencer says, "Previous to 1816 
there was not an Anti-mission Baptist in Kentucky 
so far as known." (Vol. I, p. 570.) Neither could 
the Pigeon Creek Church, founded in 1816 in Indiana, 
be a "Hardshell" church, for the split between the 
Missionaries and Anti-missionaries had not taken 
place, and did not occur until about 1832 and follow- 
ing. John Taylor and Daniel Parker, the leaders, 
later in the Hardshell movement, were yet lined up 
with the Regular Baptist body, which was doing mis- 
sion work in 1816. 

William E. Barton, D. D., LL.D., in his "The Soul 
of Abraham Lincoln, ' ' published 1920, page 36, says : 
' * Thomas Lincoln is alleged by Herndon to have been 
a Free-will Baptist in Kentucky, a Presbyterian in 
the latter part of his life in Indiana, and finally a 
Disciple (1, 11). He does not state where he obtained 
his information, but it is almost certain that he got 
it from Sally Bush Lincoln on the occasion of his 



192 Kentucky Baptist History— 1770-1922 

visit to her in 1865, as she is the accredited source of 
most of the information of this character. 

"I am more than tempted to believe that either 
she or Herndon was incorrect in speaking of Thomas 
Lincoln's earliest affiliation as a Free-will Baptist. 
There were more kinds of Baptists in heaven and on 
earth than were understood in her philosophy ; and I 
question whether the Free-will Baptists, who origi- 
nated in New England, had by this time penetrated 
to so remote a section of Kentucky. What she prob- 
ably told Herndon was that he was not of the most 
reactionary kind — the so-called ' Hardshell ' or Anti- 
mission Baptists The Scripps biography, read 

and approved by Lincoln, said simply that his parents 
were consistent members of the Baptist Church." 
This should settle the question as to the church affilia- 
tion of the Lincolns. Mr. Barton also gives evidence 
to show that the Lincolns were never Presbyterians 
nor Disciples. They were simply Baptists. 

Another point worth noticing is the subscription 
list for the building of the chimney to the church. 
Next to "corn," " wheat" came "whiskey" on the 
last. This shows that whiskey at that time was a 
staple commodity in commerce. We have two other 
such subscriptions. South Elkhorn and Pitman's 
Creek churches both have old subscription lists for 
pastor's salary and church building respectively with 
whiskey as a part of the payment. 

Mr. McGregor says Abraham Lincoln "had their 
Kentucky pastor, Elder David Elkins, come to their 
wilderness home (in Indiana) and preach his mother's 
funeral." We learn from Spencer that David Elkins 
was "one of the early pastors of Goodhope Church," 
and that "he labored with a good degree of success 
among the churches of Russell's Creek Association, 
and preached the introductory sermon before that 
body in 1814." (Vol. I, p. 336.) This puts pastor 
Elkins in that section of Kentucky where the Lin- 
colns lived, but Elkins was never a "Hardshell." 
All of these facts go to show that while the Lincolns 



Mystery of Lincoln's Religion Cleared Up 193 

were Baptists they were not ' ' Hardshell ' ' Baptists in 
Kentucky. 

In response to a letter addressed to the postmaster 
at Lincoln City, Indiana, asking what kind of a Bap- 
tist Church "Little Pigeon Creek" was, and if the 
old records show from what Baptist Church in Ken- 
tucky Thomas Lincoln's letter came, the author re- 
ceived a reply from the clerk of the church, saying: 
"Old Pigeon Church is a Regular Baptist Church. 
Some call them Hardshells, but the right name is 
Primitive Baptist. The record don't show what 
church he (Thomas Lincoln) was lettered out of." 
This was signed "Lewis Varner, church clerk of 
Pigeon Church. Boonville, Ind., 1-4-22.". This 
shows that the church is now a Hardshell church, and 
this fact, perhaps, misled Mr. McGregor. 

In response to a letter to Hon. Thomas B. Mc- 
Gregor, the author received the following: 

Commonwealth of Kentucky 
Attorney General's Office 

FRANKFORT, KY. 

State House, Jan. 2, 1922. 

Dr. William D. Nowlin, Pastor, 

First Baptist Church, 
Greenville, Ky. 
My Dear Doctor: — 

I am in receipt of your letter of the 31st ult., rela- 
tive to my recent article upon the religious views of 
the parents of Abraham Lincoln, and I have noted 
with interest what you have to say touching upon the 
history of the Hardshell Baptist Church in Kentucky. 

The article you saw was doubtless taken from a 
Chautauqua address that I have delivered in several 
States and which was recently used in a magazine 
and by the Associated Press in tabloid form. 

I found the old church book of the Little Pigeon 
Church more than twelve years ago, and at that time 
I looked closely into the history of the Lincoln family 



194 Kentucky Baptist History— 1770-1922 

in Kentucky. Thomas Lincoln joined the Little 
Pigeon Creek Church in Spencer County, Indiana, by 
letter, and knowing the customs of the Primitive Bap- 
tist Church so well, I immediately begun to look for 
his church connection in Kentucky. In my search 
somewhere, I ran across the fact that his anti-slavery 
views were that of his church and that he was a 
member of such church in either Hardin or Washing- 
ton counties, Ky. In 1807 there was a dissension in 
the General Union of Baptists, and those churches 
refusing to give fellowship to slaveholders formed 
a separate Association and it was known as "The 
Baptized Licking Locust Association, Friends of 
Humanity." It was of short life, however, and by 
1814 it had disappeared. The home of the Lincolns 
in Kentucky was in Baptist territory. 

With high regards and best wishes, and thanking 
you for your interest in my article, I am 
Yours very truly, 

Thos. B. McGregor. 

It should be remembered, however, that it was not 
the anti-slavery sentiment that marked a church as 
" Hardshell, ' ' but the anti-mission sentiment. Many 
of the early Baptists who were anti-slavery were 
thoroughly missionary. The zealous, evangelistic 
missionary, Wm. Hickman, was one of the " emanci- 
pators/ ' but never anti-missionary. 

Mr. McGregor says Abraham Lincoln "was raised 
in the simple Baptist faith, which in after years never 
left him." 

While there is no record of Abraham Lincoln 
having ever joined a church, it is believed that he 
lived and died in the simple Baptist faith of his 
fathers. 

Lincoln and His Bible 

The following account of Lincoln and his Bible is 
taken from one of our Baptist papers : 

1 ' The Bible which fed the soul of Abraham Lincoln 
in the Kentucky log cabin of his boyhood was one of 



Mystery of Lincoln's Religion Cleared Up 195 

the cheap little Bibles imported from England by 
vote of the American Congress in 1777. 

' ' Lincoln loved the Bible above all books, and once 
paid the following tribute to it: 'I am profitably- 
engaged in reading the Bible. Take all of this book 
upon reason that you can, and the balance by faith, 
and you will live and die a better man. In regard 
to the great Book, I have only to say that it is the 
best book which God has given to men.' " 

Lincoln's addresses, speeches, and messages are 
shot through and through with quotations from the 
Bible. For example, take this paragraph from his 
second Inaugural Address delivered March 4, 1865: 
"The Almighty has his own purposes. 'Woe unto 
the world because of offenses! for it must needs be 
that offenses come; but woe to that man by whom 
the offense cometh.' If we shall suppose that Amer- 
ican Slavery is one of those offenses which in the 
providence of God must needs come, but which hav- 
ing continued through his appointed time, he now 
wills to remove, and that he gives to both North and 
South this terrible war, as the woe due to those by 
whom the offense come, shall we discern therein any 
departure from those divine attributes which the be- 
lievers in a living God always ascribe to him ? Fondly 
do we hope — fervently do we pray — that this mighty 
scourge of war may pass away. Yet, if God wills 
that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bond- 
man 's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil 
shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn 
with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with 
the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so 
still it must be said, ' The judgments of the Lord are 
true and righteous altogether.' " 

In Mr. Barton's recent book, "The Soul of Abra- 
ham Lincoln" he gives on page 86 a statement taken 
from Scribner's Monthly, 1873, page 343, as follows: 
"Here I relate an incident which occurred on the 
4th of March, 1861, as told me by Mrs. Lincoln. 
She said: 



196 Kentucky Baptist History— 1770-1922 

" 'Mr. Lincoln wrote the conclusion of his in- 
augural address the morning it was delivered. The 
family being present, he read it to them. He then 
said he wished to be left alone for a short time. The 
family retired to an adjoining room, but not so far 
distant but that the voice of prayer could be dis- 
tinctly heard. There, closeted with God alone, sur- 
rounded by the enemies who were ready to take his 
life, he commended his country's cause and all dear 
to him to God's care and with a mind calm by com- 
munion with his Father in heaven, and courage equal 
to the danger, he came forth from that retirement 
ready for duty.' " 

Lincoln was a man of God, a man of prayer, a 
man of faith. He believed unquestionably in the 
eternal purposes of God, and in the infallibility of his 
revealed will — the Bible. 



